The Rising Sun
by Ava Abney
Summary: It was ironic, really, how I was so afraid that Jacob would leave me.It was undoubtedly my worst nightmare. Therefore, I never had even considered leaving him myself. And yet there I was…leaving. Yes, I guess you could call it ironic. Unspeakably so.JBXOC
1. Prologue

Return

**Disclaimer: Twilight and all it's characters do not belong to us they belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer... duh!**

** Hi! This is our fic! **** We hope you enjoy it!**

**A few things to remember... ****Breaking Dawn did not happen. ****This is our first story. **** There will be no Edward, Bella, or any Cullens in this story. Sorry. **

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Prologue

Two years later, and I still hadn't gotten over her. Bella. Images of her smiling vampire face haunted me following me everywhere. If I saw her now would she be thirsting for my blood? I shuddered. Vampires. I couldn't believe that she was one of them. To me being a vampire was worse than being dead. Cold, lifeless, and hard. My worst nightmare. I needed to get over her. But how could I, with memories of her lingering in my mind, burning me from the inside out? Why the hell did I deserve this? This endless agony? Sure I wasn't perfect, I'd made plenty of mistakes, but what had I done to personally offend God or whoever was inflicting this pain on me? And to make it worse I had a bunch of imprinted werewolves in my mind whenever I tried to escape the pain by becoming a werewolf myself. They were so happy. I stared at the blonde girl loitering in front of the mall and tried to make myself attracted to her on a whim. I was desperate. But, as always, nothing happened. I just couldn't seem to really actually see her. I moaned, why had I gotten my hopes up? Just then, a girl with black hair walked out of the mall. My eyes locked onto her figure. My anguish vanished and gravity seemed to move. All I knew was her.

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	2. Chapter 1: Unrequited

**Disclaimer: Twilight is not ours... obviously. **

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**Jamie's Point of View**

_Ugh! Disgusting! _I thought as I watched Nate and Alex strolling down the hallway, hand in hand. How could Alex prefer that freak over me? Still, seeing Alex made my heart flutter, and butterflies flew in my stomach. My eyes appraised his dirty blond hair, his mesmerizing green eyes, and his masculine, lanky body. Was it desperate of me to be in love with someone who was gay? I glared at Nate, trying to be inconspicuous. Alex caught my glare; I guess it was no secret of my distaste for his new boyfriend. He ignored it though, as usual, paying no attention to my bad mood.

"Hey, how was math?" Thanks, remind me of that test that I know I failed.

"Great," I lied, but he laughed, seeing through me right away.

"How'd you do on the quiz?" he teased.

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up," I snapped. He chuckled and we ambled to the parking lot. How could cheerful, flamboyant Alex be with gloomy, dull Nate? I should have expected this though, for trusting people. I tried to forget the face of who I once thought was my true love: Mark, now officially my one true heart breaker. For two years, he had dragged me along...pretending to love me, lies effortlessly slipping through his teeth every time he'd said, "You're the one"...only to end up cheating on me. I couldn't trust anyone with my heart. I'd learned _that,_ if nothing else_, _from the experience.

I stepped into the back seat of Alex's shiny new Pontiac Vibe and started jabbering. "Alex, really...Mr. Stepp has it in for me. I tried to study last night." He smiled, his emerald eyes gleaming.

"Yeah, I'm sure you spent hours studying," he replied with heavy sarcasm.

"Whatever."

Nate muttered something under his breath. What a cynic.

"So, anyway," I continued, "When are you and I going to Port Angeles? I need a girl's night out." I purposely left out Nate; I didn't want him to drag me down. I hoped that Alex caught the hint.

"Well, tonight Nate and I are seeing a movie. But...tomorrow?"

"Oh," I mumbled, trying to hide my disappointment. Nate, unfortunately, was an important part of Alex's life...for some weird, unfathomable reason...and I had to deal with him.

"We're here, Jamie. Sweetie, I'll call you later okay?"

"Fine."

I sighed as I climbed out of the car. My life sucked. As soon as I opened the door I saw my black lab Banner bounding towards me, his mouth pulled into a grin, his tongue flopping every time he hit the floor. I laughed. Banner could always bring up my mood, whether I liked it or not.

He followed me into my room, tail wagging. Sometimes he was the only creature who understood. I logged onto my laptop entering through all the screens that I received from not shutting my computer down properly. I checked my email: "twenty-eight new messages," the text flashed. _Great, just what I want to do. _I deleted all the spam and narrowed the junk down to eleven messages. I really needed to get off of those mailing lists. About half of the messages were from Danielle. All of them were about her boyfriend Tommy.

_Jamie,_

_What should I get Tommy? I mean it's our one year anniversary. It needs to be really special. I love him so so so much! I was thinking maybe a gift card…. I don't know...that doesn't seem to be good enough._

_Danielle :)_

_Jamie,_

_Guess what?! Tommy wants to go to college with me!! This is the first big step in our relationship. Who knows, in another four years we could be getting married! I'm sooooo excited! I really think I'll go with him. He is such a good boyfriend! I should definitely make plans with him, don't you think?_

_Danielle :)_

I put my head on the table. Didn't she realize how quickly relationships could end? That one day you would be passionately in love, the next your heart was broken seemingly beyond repair? Not that I could blame her. That's how I had felt about Mark. I decided to answer those later, putting people's love life aside and turned my thoughts to Alex. How could he like Nate? I shuddered at the thought of him, sunlight glaring off his glasses, white blond hair permanently gelled into spikes, and his horrible fashion sense. (Thank God that Alex was helping him.) Why would Alex the anarchist, Alex the troublemaker, Alex outspoken and unpredictable, have a relationship with someone who had almost nothing in common with him?!

I shut off my computer, not bothering to shut it down properly, and muddled through through my homework and dinner. When I finally did get in bed, I couldn't fall asleep. I tossed and turned in bed. I knew what was bothering me. My old life. I had thought of it too much today...usually, I just put it in the back of my mind and ignored the horrible memories. Having them flood in, all at once, was overwhelming...my head throbbed as my mind unwillingly wandered to my old home. Florida: the flat land, the humid climate, the washout blue skies...the place where I'd transformed into a pessimistic, hostile adult from a naive, outgoing girl. The roaming, endless landscape replayed in my mind until I drifted off into slumber.

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**Ava: We hope you liked this chapter! It's a little depressing that Jacob isn't in it much but Jamie needs to be introduced.**

**Aubrey: We plan on updating next Sunday September 7. **

**Aubrey: Please rate and review! We love reviews!**

**Ava: Constructive critisism is welcomed!! Do we need a beta? Is it too long? Too Short? Tell us!**

**Aubrey: I edited it a little. **

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	3. Chapter 2: Pranks

**Disclaimer: We do not own Twilight!!**

**Ava: Not much to say here. **

**Aubrey: Just enjoy!**

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**Jamie's Point of View**

I sat down at my usual lunch table with Alex, Danielle, and Nate. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the new kid, Brian looking at me. He began to move in my direction. What the hell did he think he was doing? Couldn't he just leave me and my friends in peace?

"Hey Jamie," Brian's voice penetrated my thoughts.

"Um, hi." I smiled tentatively and stared at my tray. "Do you need help with biology?" I prayed that he caught the hint.

"Not exactly. I was just, uh, wondering if you and I could go somewhere over the weekend?"

I saw Nate struggling to not burst out laughing in my peripheral vision. Danielle rubbed her hands together, hoping for my sake that I would accept, but knowing that I would decline. And Alex...he smiled a sinister smile that only meant one thing. Oh no. No, no, no, no!

"I bet she would love to," he broke in immediately. I shot a glare at him, fury burning through me and coursing through my veins. I should have anticipated this from him. He only grinned back at me in return.

I turned around to face Brian, gradually, restraining the malice in my appearance with difficulty. "Actually, Brian, I'm pretty darn busy. So maybe when my schedule clears up, I'll let you know ok?"

He nodded. "Let me know," he responded, though not as upbeat as before. He sauntered away with his head down, shoulders slumped. I almost felt sorry for him, but I needed my space.

"Why did you turn him down?!" Alex demanded when Brian was out of earshot, "He seems like a nice guy! Why do you do that?"

"Do what?" I asked, even though I knew perfectly well what he meant.

Alex sighed, frustrated. "Turn down every guy that comes your way!"

"It's not a good time," I mumbled.

"It's not a good time? It hasn't been a good time since the day you moved here! Get over that hometown jerk and move on with your life! My God! You deserve someone who treats you right, and there's plenty of guy's who'd do that here, but you refuse to let anyone in!"

I gazed into his jade eyes, realizing how much he cared for me...how much he wanted what was best for me...but not realizing how much I felt for him. "You have no idea what you're talking about," I fumed. "I loved him."

"So you're not allowed to love anyone else? You only thought that you loved that creep. If he did love you, than he wouldn't have cheated! Did you ever think of that? Not every guy is someone who will break your heart! You just have to find him, and move on from those who don't deserve you."

"You don't understand what I went through!" I shot back.

"I don't? You have no idea who you're talking to. You think that your lover hurt you because he cheated? Sorry to break it to you honey, but people go through that everyday. I've been in more abusive relationships than you can imagine. And yet, here I am, happier than I've ever been. You know why? Because I don't let assholes hold me down. You're a smart girl, Jamie, but sometimes you can be so naive."

With that, he got up and left, followed by Nate, who snickered in my direction. Lunch period was over. Danielle started at me, mouth hanging wide open; Alex had never talked to me like that before. I could feel myself tearing up, so I motioned for Danielle to follow quickly before I made a scene. "Are you ok?" she questioned in a hushed tone.

"Dandy," I responded, and hurried to the bathroom after I dumped my tray.

When I reached an empty restroom, I locked the stall door and the waterworks flow. "Jamie," Danielle's voice said, "He's just trying to help you. You know that right? It's just tough love."

I sniffled. "Yeah, but the problem is," I heaved, "...he's right. B-b-but, I can't take his advice. It just s-seems like no one is the right guy for me...except him."

"Jamie, you have to get over it. You have to. People get cheated on everyday, like he said. It happened to me just a year ago. But I got over it."

"I-I'm not talking about him. I'm talking about Alex."

The silence was awkward as I blubbered and sobbed.

"You are messed up," broke the silence after a few minutes.

"I know that."

"You can't love Alex in that way. He's not even bisexual. And you know how loyal he is to Nate...do you see where I'm going here...am I crazy?! You're only hurting yourself by hanging on to these feelings!"

I wiped away the tears with the back of my hand. "Believe me," I breathed, "I know that for a fact."

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I decided to walk home instead of riding home with Alex. What a coward I was. As soon as I got home, the phone rang shrilly, irritatingly. I dragged myself over to it, misery almost overwhelming me. Banner trotted behind me. I picked up the phone reluctantly.

"Hello?"

"It's me. Did you get home all right?" It was Alex. Oh God.

"I'm fine," I muttered into the receiver.

"Look Jamie. I just want to say I'm sorry, okay?" I didn't respond. I know what he must have been thinking..._Jamie at a loss for words. Incredible!_ But instead he said: "I know it's been hard for you and I'm not going to push it. I can't compare my love-life with yours. We're different. We do things at a different pace. I'll do my best to back you up from now on, and I won't try to set you up anymore, I promise."

"Thanks Alex," I said quietly.

"So we're still on for tonight?" His voice lost its serious tone and became cheerful.

"Mm-hm," I replied, my voice lacking enthusiasm.

"I'll be there at seven. Okay?"

"Got it."

"Bye, hon. Cheer up."

"Bye Alex."

I pushed the end button and hung the phone back on the reciever. The conversation didn't make me feel any better. Banner shoved his cold wet nose into my hand trying to cheer me up.

"Hey baby," I sniffled. Banner looked up at me, a dog grin on his face in response. I couldn't help but smile a little. His tail wagged at my attempt at happiness. I sighed, then went to my room debating possible outfits.

I heard the doorbell ring at around 7:30. Alex was never one for being on time. I rushed to the door and opened it. I looked him over; he looked perfect, as usual. Just being by him lifted my spirits. The way he stood innocently in the doorway, grinning hugely, the distinct sparkle in his ceaseless eyes...his hand running through his sun-kissed, brown hair...it made me long for him in a way that was almost unhealthy. Who was I kidding...it was unhealthy. I needed to stop this--this obsession.

"Hi Alex," I mumbled. I was still embarrassed about what had happened previously at school.

"Hey James! What's up?" he asked cheerfully.

"Nothing," I said, looking down.

"Well, c'mon," he said sounding a little miffed.

I dragged myself after him out of my house and took shotgun. I looked out the window as he drove (and chattered about Nate). I tuned him out. I really felt no desire at all to hear about Nathan.

"Jamie!"

"What!?" I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"I said, where do you want to go shopping first?"

"Oh… I don't care," I told him. He frowned. This wasn't my usual behavior. Usually we would argue about which shop to go to the whole car trip there.

"That's it! We're not going shopping," he announced.

"What?" I sputtered, "Why not?"

He stared at me seriously. "You need to do something fun. Something that gets your adrenaline pumping."

"Shopping is fun." I glared at him.

"But it doesn't give you an adrenaline rush now does it?"

I thought for a second. "Well… if there was a sale and there was this really cute sweater and it was the la—."

"I don't want to hear it," he interrupted.

"Well then what are we going to do?" I huffed.

"Oh sweetie, what do you think?" he asked. "We're going to TP the school, of course."

Alex and I were infamous around school for his pranks. Well… Alex and his friend were well known for doing the pranks (who really knew my name or knew anything about me besides my friendship with Alex?). We did random pranks at least once a month, so we always kept our trunks stocked with whatever we needed for our next prank. I realized that we were due for a night out pranking. I had to admit, they were really fun...but I would never have started if Alex hadn't pushed me. If Alex would one day miracuously decide to not do them anymore, I wouldn't either. He was the main reason I tagged along. I was never worried about getting caught, either. The teachers didn't mind, surprisingly; Alex always cleaned up later and he never allowed me to help, despite my begging. He always excused me, saying that it was his idea to start the prank thing, that's how great he was. I didn't even bother arguing with him anymore.

**(Ava: I just want to say that this isn't an excuse to go out pranking your school! Only Alex can do it because he's so freaking cool! Got it? I hope so because I'm not going to deal with any phone calls from your schools!! I, Ava, don't deal with that sort of thing. I don't know about Aubrey. Hey Aubrey? What about it? **

**Aubrey: Don't even ask.**

**Ava: But seriously people this is fiction, people don't have awesome schools like Jamie does. Ha ha! Sucks for you! And for me… Not that I would ever prank my school or anything… ;D…)**

"Well, it is a month away from the last day of school…" I considered. On the last day of school we were planning to pull a huge one.

"C'mon Jamie," Alex wheedled. "You need this."

"Oh, alright," I caved. "Let's go."

He did a U-Turn at the next intersection and drove towards our high school.

When we arrived, he popped the trunk and got the goods. He gave me a wicked smile. This had been our first prank together...I didn't care if the student body would be pissed at our repeat. He yanked the rolls over the main office building, and they gradully unraveled like a cobweb on the roof. "Nice," I remarked. He held my hand for a fleeting instant...a police car's sirens blast from down the road. We giggled silently in a mixture of anxiety and excitement until they dissapeared. My heart had almost burst out of my chest at the slight gesture.

When we left, all the trees were wrapped tightly in toilet paper.

"That was fun!" I giggled.

"I told you, you needed this."

"I did feel nostalgic the whole time, though." I sighed sadly. I'd been thinking about how the first time I'd done this, I hadn't known about Alex's sexual orientation. I had been under the ridiculous impression that we were on a date. Without realizing it, he'd led me on.

"Quit complaining," Alex ordered lightly, bringing me back to the present. I grinned at him.

"Fine," I replied, "that was the most funnest vandalism we've ever done ever!"

"The most fun, not funnest," he corrected.

"Geek," I laughed. I was happy that I could act normal around him again.

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**Ava: Please don't hate us, we want Jacob too. Though the Teepeeing part was fun though, right!?**

**Aubrey: Is that even how you spell Teepeeing?!**

**Ava: I don't know!! How do you suggest I spell it?! **

**Aubrey: TP!**

**Ava: That's what I thought.**

**Ava and Aubrey: Please rate and review! **

**Aubrey: We appreciate constructive criticism too!**

**Ava: Two words are misspelled in that sentence. **

**Aubrey: ?**

**(Jacob: Fifty bucks she doesn't know how to spell them!) **

**(Embry: You're on!)**

**Ava: Well maybe I don't! But!... But... I'll think of a good excuse later!**

**(Embry: Aw shit!) **

**(Jacob: Ha Ha!)**

**Aubrey: All of you are idiots!**

**Ava: Just so you know this was supposed to be two chapters but we put them together. Sorry if it's too long. And we may possibly post a little bit more in Jacob's pov tomorrow . It depends on A. how busy we are and B. How much motivation we're getting… (Hint! Hint!)**

**Aubrey: Speaking of that, we want to give a big thanks to Terra106 for reviewing!**

**Ava: You're the best!!**

**Aubrey: We will try to get the next chapter out on Wednesday. **


	4. Chapter 3: Reaction

**Disclaimer: We do not own Twilight!!**

**Ava: We are so sorry for this short post! We propmise that next Sunday we _will_ have a complete chapter. School has been heck and since there is two of us we have to either do this on the phone or get together after school. We are going to have a chapter marathon on Saturday so this won't happen again. We just want to thank some people for their reviews. Terra106 and Twilightfan09, thank you!!**

Jacob's Point of View

_I glanced at the boy next to her enviously. He was so lucky to be that close to her._ Maybe he's just her friend. Maybe he's just her brother_, I told myself desperately. Even though I was probably deluding myself, I knew it wouldn't matter in the end. We were meant to be together. Just then her eyes met mine. My heart throbbed. I fell into her beautiful blue eyes. She _must_ notice the way electricity sizzled between us, it was impossible to ignore. She _had_ to have realized we had a connection. Or, at least that was what I had thought. Her reaction told me otherwise._

**Ava: Please rate and review!! And, once again, we are sooo sorry!!**


	5. Chapter 4: The Beginning

**Twilight is not ours!!**

**Aubrey: And the movie of the day isss 21!! Yay!! And the guy is freaking hot!! If you don't know what I'm talking about go watch it!**

**Aubrey: And let's give a big thanks to...**

**Ava: Terra106 and Twilightfan09 for reviewing. Thank you Thank you Thank you!! Cookies for you!!**

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**Jamie's Point of View**

Throughout the next day I heard many conversations about what Alex and his friend (me) had done. I was used to being talked about. It had never been new to me. I had been really popular back at my old school in Florida so I was generally talked about a lot. I only had two friends now and the only reason I had those two friends was because they had forced themselves on me.

I remembered how Alex had finally wormed himself into my circle of friends; my empty circle of friends. He had one day randomly sat at my vacant lunch-table ignoring the glare I had given him. He would chat to me on end, not minding that I didn't answer. The rest of the week was the same. I had found it slightly annoying, but bareable The next week, though, when he took a place at my table I had been crying about Mark. It was not a good time to get on my nerves. He asked me if I was okay and I snapped. I yelled at him for a good ten minutes, calling him a nosy obnoxious bastard and many other unpleasant things, then broke down sobbing. He had comforted me through the whole rest of the lunch period. I had liked him ever since then.

Later, I had asked him why he had decided to sit at my table that day. He told me that I had looked like I needed a friend and that he had never seen me smile. I denied it, but he just smiled sympathetically.

Danielle had become my friend more subtly. We were both violinists in orchestra. She was second chair and I, first. We had gotten assigned to be partners in an orchestra project. I tried to get out of having partners but Mr. Smith refused, telling me that no matter how good I was at the violin that I needed to get acquainted with the rest of the orchestra. I had been surprised, Mr. Smith usually let me get away with a lot more than the others did because I had already won three first places in violin competitions. She sat at my lunch table to work on the project and never left.

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Finally, I heard a knock on the door. I rushed to the door and threw it open. I loved hanging out with Alex. I instantly felt happier when I saw his smiling perfect face.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Let's go." I smiled as we walked to the car.

I strolled out of the mall with two bags in my hand. It was a pretty good haul. Of course, Alex had gotten more items than me. But, I was satisfied with what I had got. It was then that I noticed the strange boy...man. He gazed at me, his deep, black eyes wide with awe. For a second I got lost in them. Goosebumps rose on my arm and I shivered.

"...is so weird. Don't you think, Jamie?...Jamie?"I came to my senses. What was I doing?

I grabbed Alex's arm and muttered, "Let's go." I caught his confused expression, but ignored it and dragged him to the nearest building.

"What is it?" he asked, concerned.

"Nothing. I'll explain later."

I forced a swift glance behind me to see if the stranger was still following me. It looked clear...for the moment at least, I was safe. "What's wrong?"

"I just thought that a weirdo was watching me," I replied. Alex grimaced and peered over my head, obviously concerned. It bothered me that he cared so much. It would be so much easier for me if he didn't.

"Did you see what he looked like?"

"Yeah," I thought for a minute. "He was really tan...and he had black hair and dark eyes. He looked pretty tall, too. And for some reason he wasn't wearing a shirt. But I think that I'm safe...as long as you'll be my bodyguard."

He grinned, his eyes sparkling in humor. "Any guy is no match for me."

He didn't understand how true those words were.

I grabbed his hand, clutching it tightly (having a stalker was almost worth it if it meant I could hold Alex's hand) and led the way to the open walk area. The perturbed feeling didn't leave me, even though the ominous guy was nowhere in sight. I still felt like I was being watched...but maybe I was just being paranoid. "Well, I don't see any tan black-haired tall guys," Alex stated. "Too bad. He sounds kind of hot." I nudged him playfully, hiding my apprehension. We strolled to the parking lot and found Alex's conspicuous car in little time, keeping up the chatter to try to distract myself in vain.

Of course, Alex being so observant, noticed that I was uneasy.

"You okay?"

"Fine." I lied.

"Don't worry about that person, James. No one is going to hurt you."

_You don't know that_, I thought.

He rubbed my shoulders and tried to comfort me. "As your bodyguard, I won't let anyone untrustworthy within ten feet of you, ok?" I smiled. "If he shows up, I'll kick his ass." I allowed a chortle or two to pass through my lips.

Soon, we arrived at my house. Too soon. "Call me if you need anything," he assured me. I waved, and he drove off. I heard a noise in the woods near my hours. I shuddered and hurried to my backyard.

I wasn't in the mood for an extensive discussion about curfew, so I sneaked through the back door and tip-toed up the stairs to my bedroom, stealthily avoiding the noisy steps that would surely wake up my parents. I trudged into bed, exhausted, and tried to tune out the numerous qualms that flurried through my mind. It was stupid for me to think about the mystery man, who'd stared at me as if car appeared out of nowhere and had ran me over. I had bigger things to be worried about: homework, studying, a project, and Alex. Alex. The biggest problem, clearly. No one could ever make me feel like Alex did. No one could ever be as accepting and kind. No one would love me truly for who I was. Except him. And that's why it was stupid for me to think that I had a psycho stalker...I had nothing to offer! Certainly not looks. Wait… why would I even care if that creep liked me anyways? I started making a list of all my negative traits, and by the time I was on number 53, I drifted into slumber.

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I woke with a start, heaving and trembling. I abruptly shoved my fist into my mouth to keep from screaming, and pulled the sheets over my head. The eerie feeling did not go away as I'd hoped it would.

In the dream, the threatening teenage stalker followed me home. He opened the window and stood over me, watching, staring, never leaving. It wasn't the fact that he was there that freaked me out the most (although that was a big part of it) or the fact that I didn't know if he was going to kill me, rape me or just continue to look at me with electricity sizzling beneath his eyes, but the fact that there was an inexplicable (but undeniable) connection between us. I shook the disturbing thoughts out of my head; the "stalker" (who, A, probably wasn't a stalker, B, probably wouldn't know where I lived, and C, for the record, wouldn't be interested in me anyway) was not here, so why worry about it? Just to reassure myself, even though I knew how stupid I was acting, I crept over to the window to check.

I scanned the darkness, my eyes searching the flat ground, but I found nothing. Relieved, I exhaled. What was I expecting to find anyway? I laughed at myself for being so idiotic. I should have never allowed my worries to get to the point where I couldn't separate silly nightmares from reality. I decided right then to forget the whole horrible incident and return to bed, of which I should have never left. I was about to close the blinds when I heard something shift in the bushes in the yard. I froze, literally paralyzed in terror. My heart pounded in my chest. It was the only noise that came from me.

Immediately alert, I held my breath and focused on the patch of shrubbery. Again, I heard the rustling. If I was able to breathe, I would have begun to hyperventilate. But all I could do was look on in horror as the plant shook violently. Gradually, a huge dark shadow shifted inch by inch out of the foliage. I couldn't tell who it was or what it was...I couldn't move or think. I blinked, and the...the thing...disappeared from sight. Without realizing what I was doing, I locked the latch at the bottom of the pane and scrambled to my bed. A mournful howl pierced the night, chilling me to my bones. I threw my covers over my head, squeezing my eyes shut. I laid in bed for an hour before I fell into a restless sleep.

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**Aubrey: Please review. Or else problems will ensue...**

**Ava: We don't care if they're bad!**

**Aubrey: We will post again soon because we're having a writing marathon! Yay!!**

**Thank you for reading!**


	6. Chapter 5: Monday

**Disclaimer: We do not own Twilight!!**

**Ava: More Jacob!!**

**Aubrey: Yay!**

**Ava: We just wanted to clear something up for you. This is two years after the end of Eclipse. Jacob is eighteen and he just got back from running away three months ago. **

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**Jamie's Point of View**

I hit the snooze button for the third time this morning and groaned. I hated Mondays. I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed and went through my brief morning routine. I grabbed a pop tart and flew out the door, just in time to see Alex pull into my driveway.

"Good morning," he told me cheerfully, a smile on his face.

"Ugh," I grunted, climbing into the back seat. Morning people disturbed me.

We arrived just in time for the warning bell. I rushed to my locker, grabbed my textbooks, and made a mad dash to my first period. I swung open the door as my teacher was preparing a boring lecture. "It's nice of you to join us," she announced. I murmured an apology even though I wasn't late.

I looked at the floor on my way to my chair, too tired to lift my head. This was not unusual for a Monday morning. I could barely concentrate, scratch that, I couldn't concentrate. I looked at the picture on the front of my textbook. The teacher was talking about something in history when suddenly I became very aware that someone was watching me. My spine tingled and I clutched my desk. I looked up slowly. My mouth hung open in horror. Through the window of my classroom door, I saw a very familiar face. I cringed as the door swung open. He sauntered towards the front of the classroom and handed Mrs. Price his schedule. It was the stalker! What the hell was he doing here?! Was he even young enough to be in high school? I sucked in shallow breaths.

My panic attack was interrupted by Mrs. Price's voice. "Class I'd like you to meet your new classmate, Jacob Black."

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**Ava and Aubrey: What a sexy name!!**

**Aubrey: There's a cliff hanger for you guys**

**Ava: Sorry it's so short.**

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	7. Chapter 6: Lunch Table

**Disclaimer: We do not own Twilight!!**

**Ava: We don't really have anything to say... **

**Aubrey: Just enjoy because this took us like an hour!**

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**Jamie's Point of View**

I couldn't breathe. _Why is he here?_ I asked myself for the thousandth time. "Jacob just transferred from La Push High School. Why don't you grab a seat," Mrs. Price continued. I could feel the blood draining from my face as he walked toward the empty seat beside me. I looked at my desk. _Maybe he won't notice me. _

"Hi," he said in greeting. I grunted as he sat down. _Shit!_ "What's your name?"

What business did he have asking my name? "Jamie," I said unwillingly.

"Jamie. What a pretty name," he remarked, thoughtful. I bit the side of my cheek. Where was my bodyguard when I needed him?

"Um, whatever," I muttered. Thankfully Mrs. Price called attention to her class and our conversation ended. I tried to focus on the lesson, even though I could feel his eyes boring into me. It didn't work, which wasn't very surprising considering I couldn't pay attention in history on a _normal_ day. Five minutes before class ended I had had enough. "What are you staring at?!" I hissed. He looked away quickly, his tan skin somehow turning pink.

"Nothing," he muttered, facing away from me.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," I snarled. What the hell did this guy think he was doing?

"Sorry," he whispered, sounding pained. For some reason I felt horrible at hurting his feelings. _He deserved it,_ I tried to convince myself. Not a moment too soon, the bell rang and I didn't have to dwell on these thoughts any longer. I scurried out of the classroom, trying to ignore how Jacob's eyes followed me longingly out the door.

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Relief washed over me when it was time for lunch. I needed to talk to Alex. Now. I ran past students, ignoring their protests when I shoved into them by mistake. When I reached the cafeteria, I headed to our normal table and sat down.

"Alex!" I panted. "The psycho stalker is here!"

"What?" he asked, bewildered.

"He came to our school! He was staring at me all through first period! What do I do? Help me!" I cried.

"Are you sure it was him?" He was perfectly calm. "I mean, you only saw him, for what, like a second?"

"Alex," I fumed. "I am positive it was him!" How could I not remember those mesmerizing black eyes, darker than night, more beautiful than… Wait! I stopped myself right there. What was I thinking?

"Relax. We don't even know if he's a stalker."

"Alex," I whined.

"If he gives you any real trouble, just let me know."

"Fine," I huffed, seeing that I was getting nowhere. I heard Nate chuckle beside Alex. I glared at him.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Danielle took a seat beside me.

"Some stalker followed Jamie to school," Nate laughed, "Or so she says."

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes really!" I said haughtily, "Though no one apparently, is interested in my safety!" Nate rolled his eyes.

"Who is he?" Danielle questioned curiously.

"Some creep named Jacob Black. He's from La Push or something."

"_The_ Jacob Black? The new kid? He's stalking you? You are so lucky! He is amazingly hot! He is so muscular and—," she shut up when she saw the look on my face.

"Don't you have a boyfriend or something?" I said coldly and put my head down on the table.

"Oh come on James, lighten up. I can still appreciate hot guys. It's not like you didn't notice—," she stopped abruptly. "Jamie." She shook my shoulder. "Sit up! He's coming over here!" At first I thought she was joking.

"Yeah right," I mumbled into my arm. It would be just my luck to have him in my lunch period.

"Hey Jamie," a husky voice said. Oh no! Ohhh no. This could not be happening right now. To confirm my suspicions, Nate burst into hysterics. He was the least of my problems right now. I refused to even lift my head.

"Jamie!" Alex hissed disapprovingly, "He's talking to you." I didn't want to argue with Alex again. Maybe I could just send Jacob away, like Brian and the other countless morons who dared to approach my table.

"Hi Jacob," I said pleasantly, looking up at him, a big fake smile plastered on my face. He grinned at me.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" He gestured at the empty seat next to me. I was about to turn him down, when I accidently fell into his pleading gaze. I remembered how much it had hurt him in history when I had snapped at him. I sighed.

"Sure," I muttered. Alex, Danielle, and Nate gawked at me. I had never in the history of our table ever actually allowed someone to sit at my table. Jacob beamed, his teeth white against his russet skin, warmth radiating out of him. I looked him over for the first time. He was huge, at least six foot five. And, as Danielle had mentioned, he _was_ extremely muscular. His ebony hair was cropped short, looking like black silk. He was clearly Quileute.

"So why did you transfer from La Push High Jacob?" Alex smiled as Jacob sat down. Jacob glared at him.

"Why do _you_ care?" he asked, animosity coloring his tone. I was surprised. Jacob had seemed like a friendly person… to me at least. Alex smiled slightly for some unknown reason.

"Just curious." He didn't sound offended, smug actually, and started a familiar conversation about how much he hated the government. I sighed. No matter how interesting Alex could be, this was getting old. Jacob didn't contribute and turned to face me instead. I stiffened. I still wasn't completely over the fact that it seemed like he had only transferred here because of me.

"So, how old are you?" Jacob asked casually. I looked away from his intense stare.

"Seventeen."

"Really? I'm eighteen." He said happily. Wait. Eighteen? I knew it! He had looked way too old to be in junior classes. I wouldn't have been surprised if he had said he was twenty.

"How are you a junior then?" I tried not to sound suspicious. It didn't help his case when he tensed up.

"Uh- I got held back last year…"

"And why, exactly, did you transfer here?"

He froze for a second the responded vaguely, "Oh, you know, a change of scene." My eyes narrowed. Why was I having trouble believing that? He moved on quickly. "How long have you been here?" He leaned in eagerly.

"A year or so," I responded.

"Really? From where?"

"Um…Florida." Were we playing twenty questions or something?

"Oh Forks must be a big change then right?"

"I guess so. They're both really green. I didn't notice. I was busy with…other things." I frowned. Jacob saw my reaction.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a ridiculous amount of concern.

"Yeah, fine."

"Okay…" His voice was doubtful. Before he could say something else, lunch ended and I headed to P.E., not bothering to say goodbye.

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	8. Chapter 7: Back to School

**Disclaimer: Once again, Twilight is not ours!**

**Ava: I figured out how to spell necessary!!**

**Aubrey: Um...**

**Ava: Anywho, thank you...**

**Terra106**

**Flockster19**

**We really love your reviews they keep us going when the times get tough!! **

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**Jacob's Point of View**

I stared at her through the glass window of the classroom door. She was stunning. Her black hair fell onto the desk and covered half of her face. I longed to brush it back to see her face more clearly. Bella couldn't even begin to compare to the girl's soft beauty. I had been such an idiot back then. Suddenly she tensed, grabbing the sides of her desk. My eyes darted around the class. What was wrong? Was there danger? Her eyes moved slowly upwards until they met mine. Her mouth dropped open in horror at the sight of me. My heart panged. She was still afraid. _Idiot!_ _Did you think she was going to miraculously change her mind? _My thoughts flashed back to when she had flinched away from me and grabbed that boy's arm. I shook off the thought trying to focus on the less painful present. I grabbed the door firmly, pulling it open. I practically died on the inside when she cringed. Why couldn't she see that I could never hurt her if I tried? I tried to act casual when I strolled in, even though I felt like I was dying. While the teacher introduced me I felt a shiver run down my back at her distress. _Calm, Jacob. Calm,_ I told myself. Finally the teacher told me to take a seat. My eyes instantly locked onto the empty desk beside her. I tried hopelessly to ignore how her face grew white as I headed towards the seat. I needed to speak to her, to somehow reassure her with my voice. Strangely, though, when I looked at her my mind went blank. What was I doing? "Hi," was all I could manage. _Great. I'm sure that really comforted her Jacob. _I told myself. She grunted noncommittally, but I hung onto the sound. It was the only noise I had ever heard from her. I needed to hear more. "What's your name?" I asked, trying not to sound desperate (which I failed at miserably, not surprisingly since I couldn't do anything right). She scowled.

"Jamie." she muttered. Her voice was amazing. Literally music to my ears.

"Jamie. What a pretty name," I said, although pretty was the biggest understatement in the world.

"Um, whatever," she mumbled, looking away. The teacher finally began her lesson and I settled in my chair, continuing to stare at Jamie. The teacher's words slurred together, and I drifted off, recalling what had happened right after I had found her.

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_**Whoa, dude. She's hot.**_

_I growled. Embry just needed to shut his trap for once__**. I'd prefer it if you'd moon over someone who's not my imprint.**_

_**Just stating the facts, **__he thought as he pulled up beside me._

_He's lucky that he was my best friend, otherwise, he would've been ripped to pieces by now. Embry flinched away from the mental picture._

**_Ha!_**

_**Chill out, Jake. Does this mean that you're over that leech?**_

_**What do you think, Embry?**_

_Of course I was over her. In fact, I hadn't thought of her name once since last night._

_**Sheesh, get a grip would you. I can't wait to tell the others.**_

_I rolled my eyes._

_Again, her beautiful face entered my mind. Was she okay? Was she safe? I yearned to be with her, by her side, to comfort her and keep her out of harms way. Her being with next to me was more important than food and water. Even now I felt a dull ache right around where my heart was. I _needed _her. But how could I be with her? I couldn't just follow her around for no reason…she could barely stand me when I was twenty feet away from her. Abruptly, my heart sunk._

_**Ouch, **Embry interrupted, wincing at my pain. I ignored him, my mind racing. _

_**Does she live in La Push? Does she go to the high school?**_

_**No, she lives around Forks. I followed her home. You know...I could probably get transferred over to Forks. **_

_An image of me and her smiling in talking formed in my head. Embry rolled his eyes._

_**C'mon, patrol's over.**_

_We reeled around, my mind spinning in excitement for next Monday. I would see her again in person!_

_**Excited for Monday…now that's a first. Just don't drool on the desk.**_

_I was too happy to allow his comment to get to me._

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"What are you staring at?" Jamie snapped at me, startling me out of my recollection. I pulled my eyes away from her quickly, my face heating up. _Shit_.

"Nothing," I stammered. She hated me. She absolutely despised me. And I deserved it.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," she retorted.

I bowed my head. She was right. Why was I being so obvious?

"Sorry," I said quietly, and turned away.

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	9. Chapter 8: The Ride Home

**Disclaimer: We do not own Twilight or any of the characters from Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series...blah blah blah.**

**Ava: uhhhhhhhhhhhh...**

**Aubrey: And the movie of the day is... Eagle Eye!!**

**Ava: Go see it! It was ah-mazing.**

**Aubrey: Well I hope you like this chapter because it's super good. **

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**Jamie's Point of View**

This day was one of the longest and weirdest I'd ever had in all of my seventeen years. Thankfully, it was over. I wanted so desperately to see Alex's face, to hear his voice. Suddenly, I heard my name being called…but it wasn't the voice I wanted to hear. I quickened my pace. That better not be _him_ again. Why had I let him sit at our table? Oh right, his eyes had clouded my judgement.

"Jamie, wait up!"

I groaned, but did not slow down. "Jamie!" I didn't need to glance back to know that it was Jacob. He had been trying to talk to me all day. I hurried into the nearest hallway and pressed myself against the wall. He couldn't catch up to me if he didn't know where I was. I closed my eyes, counting until I reached one hundred. I was pretty sure that the coast was clear. I turned left into the outside parking lot, satisfied. "Hey Jamie."

I screamed. "Holy shit!" How did he get behind me? I didn't see him in the building…

"How the hell did you do that, Jacob? You just scared the living crap out of me!"

"Sorry."

"That doesn't answer my question. How did you get behind me so fast?!"

"There was…a shortcut."

Again with the lame excuses. This guy was a complete mystery.

"So anyway…" he changed the subject, "I was wondering if you needed a ride home."

I looked up at him for the first time. He waited for my answer, expectant.

"I already have a ride home," I replied, ignoring the extreme disappointment in his expression.

"Oh…well then, can I least walk to your car?"

_If it will get you off my back…_

"I'm riding home with Alex, so technically, it's _his_ car. But sure."

He squinted his eyes. "Alex." I didn't know why I almost liked the apparent anger in his tone. I think I just liked to see him upset. I started towards Alex's car, Jacob dutifully following me like Banner did at home.

"So," he began, "how was your day?"

"Long." I kept my response terse.

"Yeah, for me too. It was…unbearably long. Especially after lunch." He sounded sullen. I couldn't be sure, but I thought that there was a double meaning in his words.

"That would be school."

Relief washed over me when we finally reached Alex and Nate. "Well, gotta go. Bye." I rushed to the car door. Alex stepped in front of me.

"Actually, Jamie, Nate and I have plans…so Jacob can drive you home, can't he?" My mouth dropped open. I would kill him right now if there weren't so many witnesses. "But, but…" I sputtered. I looked over at Jacob. His whole face was lit up and there was a gigantic grin plastered on his face. "Fine." I gave up. I couldn't say anything to get out of this. "But you owe me for this," I grumbled to Alex. He just continued to smile.

I swiveled around and stomped away in no particular direction.

"My car's that way." Jacob placed his hand on my shoulder and turned me in the opposite direction, chuckling. His hand was really hot…I could feel it through the fabric on my shirt. It took me a second to realize what he was doing.

"Don't touch me!" I barked, slapping his hand off me. He held back a smile at my reaction, running his hand through his thick, shaggy hair. I thought he was flexing his muscles on purpose. "You have serious problems, you know that? Did I _say_ you could touch me? No! I can't even _believe _that you thought that was okay with me! I don't even know you! Why the hell are you following me around, anyway?" I ranted. He looked at me, clearly amused. My fists clenched and I glared at him. I didn't think my discomfort was funny. We reached his dilapidated, black car.

"It's not much…but I made it myself. It's safe, don't worry," Jacob told me, his voice huskier than usual. Despite being completely furious with him, I believed him. There was just something about his eyes... He opened the door for me and I slipped into the passenger seat. His car smelled musky, like the outdoors. I liked it. I leaned back, laying my head on the headrest. I was exhausted. Jacob got in the driver's seat silently, and I closed my eyes.

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**Jacob's Point of View**

I looked over at her. Her face was smooth, serene. For once, she wasn't angry or afraid. I smiled when I thought back on her tirade. I loved her blunt honesty. I was falling for her more and more each second. I chuckled. Like that was even possible. Suddenly, her eyes flew open.

"What?!" I hid my smile away, still laughing internally. I shifted into reverse and pulled out of the parking space.

"So…what's up with you and Alex?" I tried not to wince as I said his name.

Why did she look so uncomfortable?

"We're…just friends," she said hesitantly.

I relaxed a little, but she still looked kind of upset.

"Oh." I looked away, wanting to ask her something, but not. "Do you…like him?" She glared at me, her eyes ready to kill. But she didn't say anything. I sucked in a sharp breath. I felt like someone was stabbing me in the gut.

"Why do you care?" Jamie finally asked.

I couldn't bring myself to answer. If I said anything she would know how upset I was. "It doesn't matter anyway," she muttered. "He's in a relationship." Even though I was happy to hear that, it pained me to see her so distressed. What, did Alex think that Jamie wasn't good enough or something? What an idiot.

"Maybe he'll see the light," I responded, making a pitiful attempt to cheer her up. "He has no idea what he's missing out on." For a second, her face showed no hostility. She looked vulnerable, unguarded. But then she abruptly switched back to a sarcastic smirk.

"I highly doubt that will ever happen," her voice was bitter. I felt like I was missing some double meaning, but I didn't press the subject. I sighed. "You need to take a left here."

"I know," I said under my breath, turning the wheel.

"What?"

"Nothing. What's your address?"

"It's the brown one on the corner." I was kind of hurt when I realized that this was not her house. _Time, Jacob,_ I reminded myself, _It'll take time._ She wouldn't feel the imprint like I had. I'd have to wait just like any other guy. Good thing I was an expert on waiting.

"Thanks for the ride," she said when we approached the house.

"How about I take you tomorrow?"

She opened the door when I rolled to a stop. Her brows furrowed in thought. "Maybe," she said, and walked away. The corners of my mouth pulled up in a smile, and I drove off.

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	10. Chapter 9: A Dinner Party

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**Jamie's Point of View**

"Come on, Jamie it'll be fun," Jacob pleaded. He had been begging me for the past half hour to go to his friend Sam's house for dinner. It was Friday, and the week was almost over. Jacob had taken me home every day since Monday, because Alex always had plans with Nate after school. Coincidence? I think not. I had to admit, I was getting more comfortable with Jacob. I wasn't as cautious with him anymore…he seemed okay. But I wasn't going to let my guard down just yet. I didn't fully trust him. He always stared at me with this look on his face. And he had a hidden agenda; he was constantly making excuses and lying. But I was the only one that had a problem with him; all of my other friends had warmed up to him in no time. Danielle, despite the fact that she had a boyfriend, never failed to remind me of his "hotness." I wanted to strangle her when she said that…she only liked him for his looks. There was more to him than that.

"I don't know," I responded warily. "I don't even know you that well, Jacob. Or Sam." It was no secret that I was reluctant to be around Jacob. I got into his car.

"Emily is such a good cook. You'll love her."

"Is anyone else going to be there?" I asked.

"Yeah, all of my…friends."

"No," I told him. I wasn't much of a people-person these days.

"Jamie," he looked over at me, his eyes meeting mine. I couldn't move. This was another reason why I disliked being around Jacob. We had these long awkward moments where we would just stare at each other. The air seemed thin and I had trouble remembering what I had been thinking about. "Please." My heart fluttered. What the hell? I broke the connection.

"Fine. Whatever. Let me just call my parents." He beamed at me.

"Thanks."

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"I changed my mind, I don't want to go," I said as we pulled into the driveway of a small house.

"Too late," he smirked. I crossed my arms.

"Fine. I'll wait out here while you stuff your face." He laughed.

"You're coming in no matter what…" he paused. "Or I could just bring everyone out here." I couldn't tell if he was serious. I frowned.

"I hate you Jacob Black." The words felt funny in my mouth, even though I didn't mean it. I'd never had any problem telling someone that I hated them before, not even Alex. I exited the car before I could think about what that meant.

"Sure, sure. Now let's go."

We walked up to the entrance and Jacob held open the door. "After you." I strolled in casually, hiding my uneasiness. At first I thought I'd walked into a room full of Jacob's clones, until I noticed subtle differences in their features. Holy crap they were huge! And I'd thought that Jacob was a freak of nature. All at once, they turned to face me. I froze.

"Guys, this is _Jamie_," Jacob introduced me. I didn't know why he'd said my name with so much emphasis.

"Jamie, it's so nice to meet you." A young woman with a cheerful air about her walked up to greet me. She would have been beautiful if it hadn't been for three long scars that twisted her features. I made an effort to look at her eyes instead.

"Nice to meet you too," I replied weakly.

"There's a ton of food for everyone in the kitchen. I made bread and chicken and potatoes…"

"Stop talking, you're making us hungry," one of the boys said.

Emily sighed. "Well, once Jamie gets her dinner, Embry, you can go eat."

"Wait…" Another boy called out, "that means Jacob will get his food before me!"

"Collin," Emily warned. I started to feel uncomfortable.

"C'mon Jamie," Jacob led me to the kitchen. I grabbed a plate and began to serve myself. I wasn't really surprised at the amount of food, since most of these boys probably ate like Jacob…but I felt bad for Emily who had had to purchase it all. I reached for a piece of bread at the same time as Jacob. His arm accidentally brushed against mine. I looked down, not comprehending my feelings. Random, confusing thoughts swirled around my head. My skin was pale in comparison to his. And was he sick? Because the his arm was so warm. Coming to my senses, I snatched my arm away and left the room, feeling his eyes on me. I knew that it was impossible for him not to have noticed what had happened. I usually didn't allow him to get close to me. Maybe I was catching whatever sickness Jacob had had. I was going crazy. I carefully sat down in an empty seat, still in a daze.

"Hello," a tiny voice said. I looked down. A cute, Native American toddler waved her hand up at me.

"Hi." I tried to sound friendly.

"My name is Claire. What's yours?"

"Jamie. Nice to meet you." One of the clones started to walk towards us.

"Quil! Quil! This girl is named Jamie!"

He picked her up gently.

"Really?"

"Yeah, say hi to her Quil!"

He looked at me.

"Hi," he stuck out his hand. "My name's Quil…and you've already met Claire."

"Is she your sister or something?" I asked, trying to be polite. He shifted uncomfortably.

"Ahh...kind of...where's Jacob?"

"I don't know, I left him in the kitchen," I mumbled. He seemed surprised for some reason.

"Well, since Jacob isn't here, I can introduce you to everyone, if you want."

"Sure," I replied, putting down my plate. I wasn't hungry anyways. I followed him around the room. We stopped in front of Collin and another boy. They had somehow already gotten their food.

"This is Collin and Brady." The two boys waved at me. They must have only been fifteen. I sensed that Collin was a clown by his slight smirk and bright eyes and that Brady took things a little more seriously. "That's Jared and his fiancé Kim." He gestured toward and a rather plain girl with long black hair and, yes, another clone. They offered me smiles. "Over there is Paul and Nadia. They're also engaged." Nadia was a small Asian woman with a look in her eyes that made me think that she had seen a lot of things for her age. Not all of them good. Her fiancé, Paul, seemed a little more laid-back. He grinned and whispered something in her ear, playing with her hair. Nadia rolled her eyes."There's Embry, but of course you've already met him." Embry winked at me. Gross. "There's Leah and Seth. They're brother and sister." Leah was off to the side. She looked out-of-place among the smiling people in the room. She was also extremely tall with long, thin legs, supermodel material. The boy named Seth chattered on to her, not seeming to care that she wasn't really paying attention to him. "That's Billy, Jacob's father." He gave me a long nod from his wheelchair. "And finally, that's Sam." Sam appeared older and bigger than the rest, only topped by Jacob's size. He crossed the living area to shake my hand.

"It's really nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you from Jacob," he told me.

"What?"

"He says that you're a nice girl."

I highly doubted Sam's words because I definately hadn't been very nice to Jacob. But I didn't dare say that out loud. "Did he really?"

Sam eyebrows raised at my tone, but before he could reply Jacob walked in looking dazed.

"Could you move any slower Jacob?" Paul complained. "We're friggin starving over here waiting for you."

"Sorry guys. Let's eat." Jacob didn't even finish his sentence before the boys started wolfing down their massive meals. I poked around at my plate, eating out of politeness rather than hunger; but I had to admit, Emily was an amazing cook…and I applauded her for having the patience to make enough food for these pigs.

As I observed them I noticed that Jacob and his friends not only looked similar, but they also had the same habits. Sometimes they did things in unison, like getting up at the same time or saying the same things. It was weird...uncanny. They all had to be cousins or related somehow…

"Jamie, do you like the food?" Emily interrupted my thoughts.

"It's delicious," I answered honestly.

I spared a glimpse at Jacob, who I just now realized was sitting right next to me, already done with his dinner. After a while, he noticed me looking at him; he offered me a warm, genuine smile. I smiled back tentatively and averted my eyes, trying not to recall what'd happened in the kitchen. I could tell that the others saw our exchange.

"So," Collin began, trying to break the silence. "What's up Jamie?"

I looked down and shrugged my shoulders.

"Nothing much," I responded.

"How do you know Jacob?"

"Um…from school." Hadn't we been over this already? Seriously.

"That's cool."

"Yeah. It is."

Suddenly, Jacob tensed up. I looked around the room…the mood had abruptly altered. Everyone's faces were serious, critical, especially the boys'. Well this was going along perfectly.

"Guys," Sam said authoritatively in a low voice, and nodded once to Jacob. What in freaking hell was going on? Kim was grasping tightly onto Jared's waist…Emily was burying her face in Sam's chest…Nadia bore into Paul's eyes, pleading…and Jacob looked at me in a frantic, wild fashion, his eyes wide in anxiety.

"Sam, I need to stay here," he told Sam in a monotone, his eyes not leaving my face.

"Jacob, don't do this. You have to come."

"No!"

I'd had enough. I needed to speak up since apparently no one was bothering to tell me what had happened to cause a sudden mass panic.

"Jacob," I turned to face him, "What the hell is going on?" He didn't move.

"Nothing's going on. I just, um, need to get something. We left something at, uh, Brady's house."

"What?" I seethed. "Do you think I'm stupid? Do you think that I don't have eyes? I see how everyone is acting. Tell me what's going on right now Jacob Black. Or I swear I wil never talk to your face again." I had been forcibly dragged to this stupid dinner party that I was almost enjoying, until some weird thing happens that…that… "Just take me home," I demanded. He glanced over at Sam. In my rage, I hadn't realized that half of Jacob's friends had already left. All the women were present except for Leah. This was getting more and more suspicious. Jacob clutched both of my hands and held them in his.

"No," he ordered, implying that there was no room for further discussion. "Do not leave this house. Do you hear me? Do not leave…under any circumstances."

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	11. Chapter 10: Helpless

**Disclaimer: We still do not own Twilight... **

**Ava: In celebration of my laptop being fixed we are posting a new chapter.**

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**Jamie's Point of View**

I jerked my hands out of his grasp and stood up. "No! You can't tell me what to do. I am out of here! I'll walk if I have to! And you listen to me, Jacob Black, don't even _think_ about getting within ten feet of me next Monday," I spat. I stomped towards the entrance, ready to give hell to anyone who got in my way. Just as I was about to escape, I ran into something blocking the doorway. It was rigid… and searing hot. My mouth dropped open as Paul lifted me off my feet and over his shoulder. I beat on his back with my fists, ignoring the intense pain that shot through my arms every time I did so. "Put me down!" I shrieked. "Put me down! So help me Paul, if you don't put me down right now, I will kick your ass along with Jacob's!"

"Alright, alright. Calm down Jamie. I'll put you down," Paul responded calmly as he dropped me down on the couch. "Just don't try to leave again, okay? You'll just be hurting yourself."

"Excuse me?"

"Just don't leave. Please. Jacob will be back soon to take you home." My head swiveled around the room. When had Jacob left? Not that I cared.

"If I'm still here," I muttered. Paul rolled his eyes.

"Tell Jacob that we'll watch her for him," Emily said evenly. Paul nodded and kissed Nadia, rubbing her back soothingly. He hugged her tightly, murmuring something in her ear, then walked across the room and left. So Emily was okay with this—this kidnapping— too?! Clearly, no one was on my side.

"So," Kim started as if nothing happened, "what should we do now?" I glanced around, paying no heed to her. Nadia's face was white, her hands curled into fists at her side. She was shaking. Kim approached her and held her tightly. "It'll be okay, Nadia. Don't worry. We've been through this before." I lifted my head at that last sentence.

"What do you mean that you've been through this before?" I got up and looked Kim in the eye. "Is this a routine for you guys? Then you can tell me what just happened!" Kim just continued to comfort Nadia, ignoring me. They all ignored me. So be it. "Well while you go through your little crisis, I'll be going home. I'd like to say it was nice to meet you, but that would be lying. Thanks _so_ much for the lovely party." I stormed out of the house. I wasn't surprised when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Emily.

"Wait," she told me, "if you leave again we'll just call Paul to carry you back in. And all you'll end up doing is upsetting Jacob more."

I stood there for a second, thinking her words over, before viciously shrugging her hand off my shoulder and going inside, my hands clenched at my sides. Stupid Emily. Stupid Paul. Stupid Jacob. As soon as I closed the door behind me I collapsed onto the floor, squeezing my eyes shut. I felt so helpless. Of all the things that might have gone wrong, I had never imagined Jacob leaving me. That he would just abandon me without explanation and keep me here against my will. My hands reached up to cover my face. I wouldn't, couldn't, cry especially not in front of these strangers. "Where's the bathroom?" I choked out, battling tears.

"Oh, sweetie, it's go--," Emily sighed.

"That way Jamie," Kim interrupted, pointing her finger down the hall.

I rushed into the bathroom without looking back, and locked the door behind me. A sob burst from my lips, and I didn't try to stop it this time. Why? Why did this happen? Why wouldn't anyone tell me what was going on? Why wouldn't anyone trust me? I continued to bawl without restraint. I should have never let Jacob talk me into coming here…I should have never talked to Jacob in the first place…I should have ridden the bus before even thinking of stepping foot into his ugly car. I wiped away my tears and tried to control my sobs. I hated crying. I looked into the mirror. My face was beet red, and my eyes were bloodshot. Wonderful. Just what I frickin needed. I splashed myself with cold water and tried to smooth my hair. I took a deep breath, controlled my heaving, and unlocked the latch. I stepped out into the hallway, avoiding their gazes of pity. No one said anything to my relief. I took my place on the couch and stared on a random spot on the ceiling, a numb feeling subjugating my body. Jacob would explain. I would make him explain. I shook off my clouded thoughts and tried to divert my attention onto something else. The room was completely silent, which didn't help anything. Everyone's face was filled with worry and concern…over something that I had no idea about. We sat there in silence for God knows how long, until finally Emily gestured something to Nadia and Kim, and they all moved over into the kitchen. I slinked closer to listen in on their conversation. Maybe, for the first time since I had met Jacob, I would get a straight answer.

"What are we going to do? We can't just keep this from her," I recognized Kim's voice. "She's going to find out somehow. What must she be thinking?"

"What'll we tell her?" That must have been Nadia.

"I don't know," Emily exhaled, "the boys will have to figure something out. It's such a shame that they were making such progress. This could have just ruined everything for them...for a while at least."

"Unless we tell her," Kim interrupted.

"It's not our business to tell her, Kim. It's Jacob's," Emily disagreed.

"But--" Kim argued.

"She's not ready, Kim, even if it were our buisness," Nadia reasoned in an effort to stop the fight.

Kim sighed. "Sorry Nadia. I know that. I'm just worried about Jared."

No one responded for a long time. What the hell was all of this? What was being kept from me?! What was Jacob supposed to tell me? And, most importantly, who was making "progress"? I heard shuffling across the linoleum floor in the kitchen. I jumped back into my place on the couch and didn't glance at them as they reentered the living room.

"Jamie," Emily said. I didn't move. "We can't tell you what's going on yet because it's not our secret to tell. It's a serious issue concerning our family. When the time is right, you'll know. But for now, you'll just have to trust us. Please. And Jamie, we'll help you in whatever way we can."

I pushed myself up, using both of my arms for support. I thought that I might collapse again. Instead, I stared at the ground coldly. I wanted to tell them that I would never trust them in my life…that I was done playing this sick joke…that I would never accept help from the likes of them. But just then, I looked up and saw their faces. Kim's lips were pursed, and her eyes revealed a torturous, anxious pain that reminded me of when Mark left me…only ten times worse. Emily, despite the scars that mangled her beautiful face, radiated honesty and substance that made me really feel like everything would work out. And Nadia…Nadia, I could tell, still hung on to that last embrace with Paul with all of her strength. Whatever was happening, it was serious. Dangerous. Critical. All I'd been doing was making this harder for the people who had something so much more significant to worry about.

"Emily, Nadia, Kim," I spoke each of their names carefully. "I trust you."

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	12. Chapter 11: Advice

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**Jacob's Point of View**

_**I gotta tell you Jake, she's a little crazy.**_

If this was Paul's way of trying to make me feel better, he was doing one hell of a job.

_**Oh c'mon Jake, she'll be fine. Nadia, Em, and Kim will take care of her. **_

I sighed._** I hate leaving her alone, though, **_I thought back_**. And lying to her. What if that thing found her?! Then what would happen? I would never be able to live with myself, Paul! I have to turn around man…I just have to!**_

Sam's command penetrated my mind. _**Jacob, you can't go back. You have to do your duty here. She'll be safe.**_

Even my undying need to keep her safe couldn't go against Sam's orders. _**Whatever. **_

Seth rolled his eyes. **_What happened? I remember when nothing could get between you and a vampire fight. _**

_**Shut up, **_I growled. In less than minutes, we reached the bloodsuckers. There were five, their red eyes glinted evilly in the moonlight. I didn't feel threatened. I'd dealt with stupid vampires before. Sam thought out commands, and I thrust myself at the closest one. I couldn't wait to get this over with. I tore through the stony skin with my teeth and ripped apart the limbs with a hatred that burned deep in my veins, blaming them for making me leave Jamie. Blaming them for making her mad at me. In a matter of minutes I had a pile of glowing, ivory granite in front of me. _Some fight, _I thought to myself. I looked around and saw that most of the other vampires had reached the same fate.

_**Piece of cake. This is hardly any fun anymore, **_Collin thought lazily. I agreed. It was like the vamps weren't even trying now. I noticed that Sam had phased back to a human and lit the pile on fire. He finally finished and changed into a wolf.

**_Move out, _**he barked. I followed right behind him, taking my place as beta.

_**Wait, Jacob. **_I was surprised when I heard Leah address me. _**Take a walk with me. **_

_**What Leah? **_I was impatient to see Jamie. I didn't feel like dealing with Leah's bad attitude right now.

Leah ignored my thoughts. **_You know she's going to be pissed at you, right?_ **

I snarled. _**Thank you for pointing out the obvious.**_

_**Do you know what you're going to say to her?**_

I didn't answer.

_**Of course you wouldn't. **_She sighed. _**Boys are so clueless.**_

_**Oh yeah? What's your brilliant plan to fix this mess? Don't you know that this could have ruined everything for us?**_

_**I highly doubt that, **_she laughed acrimoniously, thinking of Sam and Emily and opening up three years of heartbreak. I winced, remembering when my life had been in a situation very much like hers. I knew she was jealous of me...of the fact that I had imprinted and she hadn't. That she was all alone now. _**Give her some time cool off... no matter how much you want to be with her. Don't throw a big fuss when she refuses to let you drive her home. **_

_**Why not? **_I asked sullenly.

_**Because, **_she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world,_** even though she doesn't act like it… or consciously recognize it… it'll bother her that you won't pay attention to her. Don't forget that the effect of the imprint is a two-way street. Then tomorrow go to her house and take it from there. **_

_**Wow, I'm impressed. When did you become the expert on relationships? **_

_**When do you**_** think**_** Jacob? **_She retorted bitterly. I tried to avert my thoughts from her and Sam's relationship. Luckily we had finally made it to the house.

_**Thanks Leah,**_ I thought right before I phased back.

"Don't mention it Jacob," she gave me a rare smile. She was already dressed. I smiled at her in wolf form before I changed. I slipped behind some shrubbery and slipped on my shorts. I loped towards the house, pausing before I opened the door to take a deep breath of courage. The pack was already there, of course, and their presence made it a lot harder to find her. I panicked. _Where is she_? I scanned the broad, open room. Just then, I caught sight of her. She was standing in a corner, distancing herself from the people in the room and...and she was glowering at me. Her blue eyes chilled me in an icy, relentless stare, her cheeks were red, and her mouth was set in a hard line. I gulped and moved towards her. I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked at her shoes when I reached her.

"D-do you want me to drive you home?" I murmured quietly, cringing mentally. The room went silent. My eyes swept over the pack's faces, and Leah caught my attention. 'Be cool,' she mouthed. I nodded slightly and straightened.

"What do you _think_?" Her voice was cold. "I want answers right now Jacob Black. Or so help me I will never talk to you again." I wanted to apologize till I was hoarse. to tell her everything...I shrugged instead. Her eyes narrowed. "You are such an idiot Jacob! Don't you even care about how upset I am?" She was obviously furious. It took all of my strength to keep my face composed. Of course I cared. I cared about her more than anything else in the world...and it hurt me to see her so upset. This was such a bad idea. "Forget about driving me home! Forget about _ever_ driving me home! I don't even want to be in the same room with you right now!" she spat. "You can't even _begin_ to comprehend how pissed off I am at you. You know what? I don't even want to explain! Nadia's driving me home, I've already asked." She paused and looked at me as if waiting for me to object. I swallowed my words painfully.

"That's great," I forced myself to smile, "Thanks Nadia." Nadia looked up at me, surprised. For a second, Jamie was taken aback, her mouth wide in shock… before she covered it up with a nasty smirk. She strolled over to Nadia and linked arms with her showily.

"C'mon Nadia, let's go," she sneered at me, not paying attention to Nadia at all. Nadia shrunk back and her eyes darted up to mine nervously. Poor Nadia. She hated situations like this. I bobbed my head at her reassuringly. But, I couldn't stop my fist from clenching in envy as I watched them go out the door arm in arm. My artificial grin was still plastered crudely onto my face. Leah broke the silence with a laugh.

"Nice," she said appreciatively, "I didn't know you had it in you."

"What do you mean?" called Brady. Everyone ignored him. I put my back against the wall and slid down until I reached the floor. My head fell into my hands.

"She hates me," I moaned, shaking my head sorrowfully.

"No she doesn't!" Leah exclaimed. "Didn't you see how annoyed she was that you didn't overreact?"

I didn't want Jamie to be annoyed, I wanted her to be happy… but I didn't tell Leah that. Instead I said, "All I can say Leah is that this better work. This better as hell work."

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	13. Chapter 12: Feelings

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**Jamie's Point of View**

_Three all-too-familiar people stood before me, their expressions unintelligible. Mark, Alex, Jacob…my heart thumped at the sight of each them, but for different reasons. Mark was on the left with his beautiful cerulean eyes and brown, shaggy hair…Alex was in the middle with his comforting, friendly face…Jacob was on the right, towering over the other two. Images of the past flashed before my eyes: Mark asking me on a first date, his eyes filled with adoration and charisma…the first passionate kiss that we shared…a photo of my friends and I in Florida, my head resting on his shoulder; Alex inviting me to sit with him…pulling pranks and laughing…helping me through my troubles; and Jacob. Jacob with his beat-up car and affable grin…the way he was so happy just to drive me home…and the way he almost made me feel whole for the first time in months. The images picked up speed, darting in front of my eyes. I saw the time I caught Mark kissing another girl in an empty classroom secretly…the way he had hardly even looked up when I burst into the room. Alex explaining to me how he wasn't interested in girls… every single time he and Nate shared anything remotely intimate...the way my heart almost broke every time our eyes met. Jacob…the confusing way he just left me, without explanation… the vague and mysterious answers to my questions that only made me more suspicious…and how he hadn't seemed to care that I was upset at the dinner party. My head swirled with the memories, each playing through my mind at a quicker pace. They blurred together, and I couldn't see anything anymore…I felt paralyzed, like my body was numb, shut down. Jacob suddenly appeared in front of me, capturing me in one of his intense stares. I couldn't look away, my heart was beating faster and faster. I didn't even realize that the walls were gradually closing in on me. "Jamie," he whispered, sounding pained. Before I could respond to his tortured voice, the walls swallowed me into a never-ending abyss of darkness, leaving me more alone than ever._

I woke up sobbing, my breath coming in short gasps. I rolled over and pressed my face into the pillow. _Just a dream. Just a dream, _I repeated to myself over and over…but the feeling it gave me was all too real. I had calmed myself down enough to hear the familiar sound of a slight drizzle on my roof. I peeked from beneath the covers, glancing at my alarm clock. 6:30. I knew that it was too early for me to be awake but I refused to go back to sleep. I forced myself out of bed, trying to shake the remaining memory of the nightmare out of my head. I stumbled towards the bathroom, placing my hands on the edge of the sink for support. I splashed my face with cold tap water in an attempt to wake myself up. I could tell that today was going to be a long day.

I stripped and jumped into the shower, letting the frosty blast chill my body to the bone. I didn't mind it that much—it exorcised the last bit of the dream from my mind—but for some reason, I felt hollow. Like I had forgotten something vitally important but didn't know what it was. I turned the handle sideways and stood in the shower for a minute. I had to admit that I didn't feel like myself—and it wasn't just because of the horrible dream. Even with a towel wrapped around me, I still felt cold. I got out of the shower, unexcited about what the day would bring.

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**Jacob's Point of View**

I had to see her today.

It had been two whole days since the incident at Emily's house. Two whole days since she blew up, fuming, in my face. Two whole days since I last saw her face. I couldn't just stay trapped in my room and avoid her. Did she miss me even remotely close to how I missed her? Did she miss me at all?

I slammed the door behind me, got into my car and drove in the direction of her house. I didn't care if it was unexpected, showing up randomly. I hoped that she would understand.

I pulled up into the driveway of Jamie's brick house. I shut off the transmission, my heart thumping in anticipation. I already felt better.

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**Jamie's Point of View**

I fixed myself a bowl of Cheerios as my parents discussed Dad's job.

"Yeah, some families are actually relocating to Washington from Florida," my dad remarked casually.

"Really? Like who?" My mom asked.

"I don't know the specifics yet, just that they should be here by the end of the month." He turned his attention to me. "So I take it you're not going to church today, Jamie?"

"No," I responded listlessly, "I don't really feel good."

My mother shook her head in disapproval but let it go. I must have looked bad. "We're going out after the mass, so don't expect us back until three," Mom told me. I nodded out of habit, not really paying attention.

After they left, I headed upstairs and looked over my homework. My head was deep in calculus when I heard a knock at the door. _Who the hell is that_? I got up wearily and trudged downstairs, opening the door. My eyes widened in shock.

"Jacob?" I asked quietly. Butterflies whirled in the pit of my stomach and my heart beat erratically. Warmth filled the emptiness when he smiled slightly.

"I, uh, had to see you." He scratched his head. He had to see me? A shiver of pleasure ran up my spine. I frowned slightly..._No, Jamie, snap out of it._

"How do you know where I live?!" I came back to the present.

He rolled his eyes. "C'mon Jamie, I'm not stupid. I knew that that wasn't your house."

"Yeah, well, I don't want you here." I swallowed. "I have a lot of homework to do, and, um, yeah. So leave." Ignoring my protest, he invited himself in. "Excuse me, who said you could come into my house?"

"I did." He looked around. "It's nice."

"Get out now! I can't believe you even had the nerve to show up here after Friday!"

Jacob's face softened, "I'm sorry Jamie. I should have never treated you that way. It was...a rough night for me. Forgive me?"

I frowned, unable to deny the sincerity in his voice.

"You are so lucky that my parents aren't here," I grumbled finally. "My dad would kill you."

"I think that they would adore me. I'm very charming, you know," he said with a smirk. He sat down on the sofa.

"Yeah, right," I snorted. "And could you please wear a shirt for once?"

"Why? Does it distract you?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, because you could be a sexual predator for all I know."

He stiffened and turned towards me. His eyes were hooded.

"I would never hurt you," he fumed.

"Jeez, take a joke, will you?"

"It's not funny Jamie."

"Well you have a crappy sense of humor."

He scowled grimly. I bit my lip, regretting my words.

"Sorry. I didn't think it would offend you." I was surprised when the words left my mouth. I wasn't one to apologize. He scrutinized my expression, probably trying to decide if I was being sincere. I must have passed his test because he relaxed visibly.

"It's okay," he forgave me.

"But seriously, it bothers me when you don't wear a shirt in front of me." There was a long pause. I sighed. "Look, if you don't have a shirt, I'll get you one." Banner trotted into the living room and pounced on Jacob playfully. "Banner, no. Get down."

"I don't mind, Jamie. I'm a dog person." He laughed as Banner licked his face. I cocked my head to the side for a minute, watching them. I shook my head, getting back to realtity.

"Well, I'll just um, go get that shirt," I muttered. Jacob and Banner got up simultaneously and followed me. I looked back at Jacob. I was about to tell him to sit his ass down in the chair where it belonged...but instead I bit my tongue. This day was getting stranger and stranger. I led him to my room and opened my pajama drawer, throwing him an oversized baseball tee. He took his time in putting it on. "Keep it," I told him.

"No, it's fine."

I didn't object. He examined my room, eyeing the knick-knacks on my bookshelf. He picked up my old, faded scrapbook and flipped through it.

"Hey, don't look through that, it's personal." I tried to hop up to his height to reach it, but he was too tall. He suddenly stopped on one page, holding it an inch from his nose. His nostrils flared, and he started to shake.

"Who's this?" he questioned through gritted teeth. I peered and saw a photo of Mark and me. I looked away.

"No one," I murmured.

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"None of your business," I told him sharply.

He flipped to the next page.

"If he's no one, then why is he in every single one of these pictures? '_Jamie loves Mark_?!'" he read a caption angrily.

"Give me that." I snatched it out of his grasp.

"How long?"

"What do you mean?"

"How long did you date him?"

I paused.

"Two years," I managed to choke out. His figure blurred. "Jesus Christ Jacob, calm down. It doesn't even matter."

"_Doesn't_," he breathed, "_matter?_ Don't you understand?"

"Listen Jake, I _don't_ understand," I said, frightened. "And if you continue to act this way, you can just leave. You're scaring me."

He rubbed his temples, muttering something under his breath. "Jacob, are you okay?" I touched his shoulder. He looked wonderingly at my fingers until the trembling gradually stopped.

"Jamie," he exhaled, his voice caressing my name. "I'm sorry."

I met his gaze, dropping my hand. "It's fine."

"No, it's not." He sounded horrified over what he had done. I had no idea why, it wasn't that big of a deal. "I should have never gotten out of control like that," he continued.

"It's fine, really." I sighed, staring at my hands. "If you really want to know, Mark cheated on me a year ago, right before we moved. It's...kind of a touchy subject for me," I muttered. "I haven't been the same since." Why was I telling him this? He probably didn't even care.

"Oh Jamie, I'm so sorry," he whispered into my hair as he gathered me into a hug. Immediately I went taut. I didn't exactly argue, but I showed no reaction. For a second, I battled internally over whether I should push him away or just surrender to the moment, as I so badly wanted to do. Finally, I gave up and released my tough facade. Almost unwillingly, I put my head on his shoulder. His warmth engulfed me. Why did it feel so right to be in his arms? Why did I want to stay here forever? To my extreme horror, tears began to slide down my cheeks. I buried my face in his chest.

"Are you--?" He pulled away, assessing my appearance. "Don't cry," he pleaded, his voice anguished.

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"Sorry. I'm sorry," I bawled. "I'm just s-so confused." I let out a sob. Jacob's only response was to pull me back into his arms. And in their comforting hold I confronted the terrifying truth: I was beginning to have feelings for Jacob Black.

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	14. Chapter 13:Desperate

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**Jamie's Point of View**

I didn't know what the hell I was going to do. Should I risk getting hurt again, for some crazy person I barely knew…or should I take a chance, and for once in over a year, have a possibility of being truly happy? Jacob made me feel special. Beautiful. Important. I knew that he cared about me in a way that was immensely beyond anything I'd ever experienced before; even Mark hadn't seemed to care about me nearly as much as Jacob did. And for once, when I thought of Mark's name, it didn't cause a gaping hole to form in my chest.

When I thought of Jacob's name, I actually smiled. Jacob. I could feel my cheeks turning red when I saw his beaming, radiant face in my mind. When he held me, it was like he never wanted to let go. Yesterday afternoon, even when I'd told him that I was fine, he didn't dare loosen his grasp on me. It wasn't until I heard the garage door open, the sound of my parent's return, when Jacob reluctantly disappeared. I had to admit that I missed his arms encircled about my shoulders, gently holding my back, gluing my broken pieces back together. I felt like I was in a safe haven when he was with me. Like nothing could ever hurt me. My heart yearned to give in and accept him.

On the other hand, my mind knew better. I'd been through this before. I didn't want to remember the way it felt to think of myself as ugly, alone and worthless. I did not want to ever go through anything like that ever again. But didn't Jacob take away most of the pain? Even when I tried so hard to push him out, he never flinched or backed away. He really was a loyal, honest person. But, I wondered, did he really like me, anyway? Was I just kidding myself and worrying over nothing…and that he just thought of me as a friend—a pathetic, lonely friend who just desperately needed some sympathy?

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**Jacob's Point of View**

I burst through the door and squeezed Collin as tightly as I could.

"Hey, hey, hey!" he yelled, his face turning blue.

"Sorry, but you'll never guess what just happened, Col! Jamie let me hold her! Seriously, I think that she's letting me in! Finally! Ha hah!" I put him down and jumped on the couch.

"Are you ok? Do you have a mental problem?"

I didn't answer; just smiled wider then I'd had in a long time. "That's a yes," he said. I punched him playfully on his arm.

"Aren't you happy for me, though? I mean, finally she's responding to me! I don't think I've ever been this happy in my life!"

"Jacob, let me go! I need to breathe!" I hadn't even realized that I'd grabbed him again. Poor Col. I let him to the ground, apologizing quickly. "Dude, I am happy for you," he said, smoothing his shirt. "But don't kill me, alright?"

I laughed and shook my head. "What a day. I'm one step closer to getting the girl of my dreams! There's no turning back now, man…I just…I might love her. I think I might love her." He raised an eyebrow.

"Ya think?" he drawled sarcastically. I grinned at him. I had been in love with her since the first time I laid my eyes on her.

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**Jamie's Point of View**

I paced up and down the sidewalk in front of my house, wishing that I was still in bed. Even the brisk morning air of Forks couldn't clear my foggy brain. I hoped that my makeup was okay...usually, I didn't wear any, but I just felt compelled to put some on today. I didn't recognize myself, in the mirror or in my weird behavior. My mind was somewhere else...the confusion of the whole Jacob situation was really wearing me down. How should I react to him at school? Should I avoid him and give him the cold shoulder, my usual behavior...should I warm up to him and not hold back? I was sure of one thing: I didn't want to move things too fast. I wasn't ready for a "relationship" just yet, if that was Jacob's intention...if Jacob had any intentions for me other than being a friend. A long, noisy honk broke me from my distressed speculations.

"Oh, crap," I muttered as I saw Alex and Nate waiting in the car. I scrambled to the driveway and let myself into the back seat.

"Hey James," Alex grinned at me as I settled my seat. "Wow, you look...different."

"Yeah, I just wanted to try something new," I replied, trying to collect myself. I nodded stiffly at Nate in greeting.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, yep. Everything's fine. It's cold today isn't it? I mean, it's almost summer for crying out loud! It should be sunny!"

Nate tried to glimpse at me inconspicuously through the rearview mirror, puzzled over my strange mood. And I knew that Alex saw right through me, too, but he didn't interrogate me about it (to my relief). I didn't want stupid Nate to be present when I would be forced to spill everything to Alex. I didn't want to think about what I would have to tell him.

The ride to school was, for the most part, awkwardly silent. Alex tried to bring up random things, making plans, or whatever, but I didn't really listen. Usually, I was all too eager to join in the conversation...but today, I kind of tuned him out. Instead, I wondered if Jacob would be waiting for me in front of the school again. Butterflies flew in my stomach just thinking about him standing there, tall and statuesque, eager to meet me. I couldn't help but smile a little. I shook my head suddenly. _Don't do this again, Jamie. You'll only hurt yourself_, I thought.

"Jamie, get out of the car. We're here," Alex snapped his fingers in front of my face. I blinked.

"Oh, oh, sorry. I was just thinking about something..."

"What is with her?" Nate asked in what I thought was a rude tone of voice. I glowered in his direction. Couldn't he just mind his own damn business?

"I just didn't get much sleep last night," I retorted, inhaling and exhaling deeply to calm myself down. "Anyway, I'll see you guys at lunch."

I dashed away from them without any further explanation, my hair dancing wildly in the wind. I stopped at the front building, directly facing of the parking lot. I scanned the sea of cars for the black, beat up Rabbit that looked straight out of 1982. My heart sunk a little when I couldn't find it. I sat down at the foot of one of the pillars. He'd show up soon enough.

* * *

**Jacob's Point Of View**

I growled anxiously.

_**School starts in less than fifteen minutes, Sam. Can't you find this one without me?**_

_**Jacob, we have to find this trail. You'll see her after we catch the scent**__._

I threw up my head restlessly, sniffing in every direction.

_**C'mon Sam. I bet it won't matter if one of us isn't here.**_

_**No. We need everyone to help. That's the only way that we can work this out.**_

I moaned. I wanted to see Jamie so badly. The only way that I could push our relationship along was if I was actually there with her. I sniffed around a tree that looked like it had been touched.

_**Sam, I think I got something!**_ Thank God. I needed to get out of here right now. Sam moved to the spot and inspected it. He looked at me with pity.

_**Sorry, Jake. That's definitely not it.**_

I felt like tearing down the tree with my claws when he told me that.

* * *

**Jamie's Point of View**

The warning bell rang, buzzing in my ears like an insect that refused to die. I looked around once more and saw nothing that I wanted to see. I realized sadly that I was becoming exactly the type of person I'd feared most: desperate. I hauled my backpack onto my shoulders and picked up my binder, knowing that now I wouldn't have enough time to go to my locker. I treaded to my first period, ridding my mind of Jacob and my previous expectations.

During lunch, I tried not to stare at the empty seat.

"Where's Jake?" Danielle asked.

Nate shrugged. I just stared at my tray, not responding. I felt a hand softly rub my back. My head shot up. Was Jacob here? I only saw Alex staring at me, worried.

"Jamie..." Alex sounded concerned. "You're not feeling well." It wasn't a question. "I could walk you to the nurse or take you home. I'm sure missing a few classes won't ruin your grades"

I shook my head. "I'm fine, really." Alex took my hand and stood up. I did admit that I felt slightly better when he touched me.

"Just come outside. Let's talk."

Alex pulled me behind him, not paying attention to my objections. We came to an old, shady pine after exiting the cafeteria. "What's up?" he questioned seriously. "And tell me the truth."

I hesitated, shifting my feet. "Tell me," he pressed on.

"Well, I'm just upset."

"Yeah..." he urged me to continue.

"Because, um, I kind of want this...this person...to be here. But that's not really why I'm peeved."

"Then what is it?"

"Well, uh, I'm mad because I don't know what to do. And because I don't want to be dependant on this person. And because I'm letting my expectations get too high. So really, I'm just upset with myself."

Alex considered my words for a moment.

"When you say 'this person,' you really mean...Jake."

* * *

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	15. Chapter 14: Frozen

**Disclaimer: We do not own Twilight!!!**

**Ava: Sorry for the delay, we are having major writers block. :(**

**Aubrey: Thanks to Twilightfan09 for the recommendation. **

**Ava: And thanks to our wonderful reviewers: Jacob Did Not Imprint, Terra106, Fluffy Otters, Only4Miken, Gail Chan, and Twilightfan09.**

**Aubrey: Enjoy!!!**

* * *

**Alex's Point of View**

"What's up?" I asked her firmly, "And tell me the truth."

She didn't respond. I sighed impatiently, "Tell me."

"Well, I'm just upset."

Like that wasn't obvious. "Yeah…"

I already knew what was going on. It was impossible to miss the way that Jamie's eyes strayed to Jacob's spot every few seconds or the way that she had suddenly began to wear makeup. I caught onto these sorts of things very quickly. It was ironic really, how just a week ago she had thought Jacob was a stalker. Jamie could be so illogical sometimes. I wondered what had happened over the weekend to cause Jamie to have let go of her hopeless quest to reject Jacob. It had been a little surprising that it had happened so soon…of course, I had been surprised when she allowed Jacob to sit at our table. There was some other thing going on, something beyond my understanding. This was obvious for several reasons; the way that Jacob looked upon Jamie as if she was the only thing in his world; the way that Jamie would lose herself in his eyes with the happiest look I've seen on her other than in photos of her life back in Florida; the way that Jamie couldn't deny his requests even though she was trying her damn hardest; and the way Jacob had placed himself in Jamie's life easier than anybody else who was in it right now.

"Because, um, I kind of want this...this person...to be here. But that's not really why I'm peeved," she worded her words carefully, trying not to reveal the identity of 'this person'.

"Then what is it?" I asked, desperate for her to get to the point. She didn't realize that I already knew… that she just needed to get this out.

Jamie had never fully comprehended my way of understanding things. I reacted to the world depending on the emotions and relationships of people around me, not necessarily on the logical way of the world. Emotions were something I had always been interested in. I could and would spend hours watching and listening to somebody's body language and tone. I noticed how the slight change in a person's facial expression could mean a massive shift in emotions. I was very good with people. Of course, I wasn't perfect; I have let my emotions take over in the wrong way many times, sometimes allowing them to blind me. I have stayed in bad relationships knowingly because I had loved the person too much to let them go. And most recently, I had tried to push Jamie into a relationship with Brian even when I had known she would not stand for it. She was still too caught up in her love of Mark and me. Which leads to another devastating mistake of mine; letting her feelings for me go too far. I remember knowing that she was blowing our friendship wildly out of proportion to help fill the gap that Mark had left in her heart. I hadn't given much attention to it, I thought she would get it under control herself, I thought that she knew I was gay. I thought wrong…and when I finally realized this and told her that I was gay (It wasn't something I just randomly told to everyone.), it was too late and she was hurt again by love. It's terrible to watch your friend be afraid of the very best thing in life and know that it's partly your fault. I hoped Jacob would be able to fix her because if he didn't succeed, I didn't know who would. The changes I'd noticed in just the past week with Jamie were staggering. She had been sad and empty, focused on the unchangeable past. Now, she focused on the future although not exactly with the right emotions all the time, but that's human nature.

"Well, uh, I'm mad because I don't know what to do. And because I don't want to be dependant on this person. And because I'm letting my expectations get too high. So really, I'm just upset with myself."

I decided to just get on with it. "When you say 'this person,' you really mean...Jake."

She froze. "No! Why would I like him?" Her tone was too defensive, her facial expressions too stiff.

I smiled a little. "Well, he's super hot and muscular," I told her my small smile turning into a grin picturing him in my mind. It was true, he was very attractive. Too bad Nate already held my heart. "More importantly, he's really nice, he smiles a lot, he's warm." She fidgeted slightly, trying to stay focused on denying her like of Jacob I was sure. "And he can actually stand to be around you," I paused to chuckle when she glared at me. My tone turned serious, encouraging. This was important to get across. "And he really, really cares about you, I think."

She dropped her act, leaving her expression very vulnerable and exposed. "You do?" she whispered hopefully.

"Of course Jamie," my voice was gentle, "I wouldn't lie to you." And just like that, she was sobbing. Jamie, who hadn't cried in front of me since the first few days of high school.

"Alex, if he doesn't like me, I don't know if I can take it. Not again," she bawled, "I would rather die." I froze at her words. Jamie would not exaggerate at a time like this. At least, I didn't think so. I went from being confident on my grasp of Jamie's feelings to feeling very, very unsure of myself. She reached towards me asking for comfort. I let her bury her face in my shoulder. What was going on here? How could Jacob bring such reactions in Jamie in just a week? Again I was reminded that there was something beyond my understanding going on between Jamie and Jacob. I looked down at Jamie's inconsolable form and shivered, realizing that it may be beyond Jamie's understanding at this point, too.

* * *

**Jacob's Point of View**

I hastily pulled on my shorts and ran into Sam's house to grab some food. Reluctantly I looked at the clock, afraid of what I might see. _Aw shit!!!_ It was twenty minutes before school ended. I forgot about the food and hurried out the door.

I drove through the parking lot and saw Jamie about to get into Alex's car about ten spaces down. It took all of my self-control to keep my foot from slamming on the gas. My car screeched to a stop beside the Pontiac. I rolled down the window frantically. "Jamie, Jamie!" I called breathlessly, "I'm here to take you home!" She looked up her eyes widening in surprise.

"Jacob?" she asked, softly. She didn't look _too_ mad, just shocked. I smiled with relief.

"Sorry I didn't come to school today I was…busy," I winced at the pause and hoped she wouldn't notice. She didn't. "Is there anything I can do to make it up for you?" I begged.

"It's fine Jacob. You don't need to do anything," she smiled and my heart beat a little faster.

* * *

**Jamie's Point of View**

"Well get in then." I watched Jacob's lips form each word, feeling something stir inside me. My eyes drifted to his muscular arms. I resisted the urge to breach the few feet between us and stroke his warm skin. Get a grip Jamie, I told myself nervously trying to pull my eyes away from him. My attraction for him was getting unhealthy, bordering on obsession. "Jamie?"

"What?" I snapped back into focus. "Oh…sorry." How embarrassing. I went around the front and climbed into the passenger seat.

Oh, God. He was shirtless. My heart beat wildly and my eyes meandered over the contours of his chest. I looked away once I realized what I was doing. I clenched my fists.

"What?" he asked, probably at my tense position.

"Nothing," I squeaked. I forced myself to breath and once more was aware of the comforting smell of his car. It smelled like him, I realized. I took a few more deep breaths.

"Are you sure?" His husky voice was worried.

"I'm fine," I reassured him, relieved that my voice was more level. My eyes darted back towards him. He was looking at me, lips pursed as if debating something. He sighed, giving up I guess, and pulled away form the parking space. I thought about what Alex had told me after I had finished crying. He had said it wouldn't offend him if I wanted to go to school with Jacob now. So hesitantly I brought it up to Jacob, "Hey Jacob?"

"Yeah Jamie," he murmured his eyes focused on the road.

"Uh, Alex has to tutor in the morning and he can't pick me up anymore," I lied, "So, I was wondering if maybe you could drive me to school?" I bit my lip. What if he said no?

Jacob looked at me, taken aback. "Really?" He backpedaled, "I mean, sure that would be gr—s- sure… Of course, you can, Jamie." He turned back to the road and drummed his fingers nervously on the wheel. We reached my house.

"Thanks for driving me Jake," I said as he pulled into my driveway.

"Glad to," he smiled. I got out of the vehicle and paused outside the door looking back towards Jacob.

"See you tomorrow?" I asked hesitantly.

He nodded. "Seven o' clock."

For a moment, I just stood outside of the car door. It was as if his eyes were drawing me in, pulling all the doubts out. He radiated kindness and warmth, trust and acceptance. I longed to reach out, to tell him my feelings. It couldn't hurt, right?

"Um, Jake?" I started.

"What is it, Jamie?"

I looked away suddenly. "Nothing. Never mind." I slammed the door and hurried away from the car. I couldn't believe that I almost did that. I cursed myself under my breath and opened the front door, afraid to look back at him.

* * *

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	16. Chapter 15: Soul Searching

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**Aubrey: We know it's been a month and we're really really sorry.**

**Ava: Super sorry, we really did get this out as fast as we could, I've been stuck at rehearsals for two plays for the past month and I have a christmas recital coming up, too. **

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**Ava: Anyway, here it is and it's extra long, too. 5,506 words which is like twice what we usually write and we've already started the next chapter**

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**Ava: One more thing, the language is kinda bad today and we don't like it either, but this is what they would say...just so you're prepared.**

* * *

**Jamie's Point of View**

The next two weeks with Jacob were the happiest I'd had in a long while, as well as the most confusing. Jacob gave me a feeling of rightness and security that I thought I would never have again. When I was with him I felt as if nothing could touch me. He would chatter on endlessly about cars and his friends and his dad, Billy, and other points of his life, and somehow I actually enjoyed it. I enjoyed doing _anything_ with him. He made me feel…whole.

On the other hand, a part of me objected to this relationship with him. It thought that I was in too deep, and that those feelings of safety were nonsense, fake, a fraud. That he could, and would, abandon me heartlessly, leaving me worse off then ever before...a risk that I couldn't afford to take...and that I needed to get him out of my life as quickly as possible. Usually, I listened to this part; actually, it _used_ to be my sole advisor. To its great disappointment, however, this more logical part of me was shriveling away, fighting in vain a practically lost battle. I was already past the point of no return. Its queries were being ignored and its words of caution pushed away, for every other part of me screamed to be with Jacob: my body, my heart, my _soul_. That small, doubtful part of me just couldn't compete...and the more I considered it, the more I wanted that practical voice to evanescence into nothing.

* * *

It was Friday and Jacob had decided that I needed to see First Beach. I rolled my eyes at the word _need_. "Back in Florida," I told him, "I had enough beach to last three lifetimes. It's really the only thing to do there besides the amusement parks, so I've been there hundreds of times. I don't know if I want to go, and exams are next week…besides I don't have a bathing suit with me."

I wasn't being serious and he knew it, even though I didn't show him my excitement...the way my heart lurched every time we touched, how I would agree to virtually anything that he was up to. A few more hours of warmth, of Jacob? It was the easiest decision that I had probably ever made.

"Bathing suit!" he scoffed, penetrating my muse, "We aren't going swimming. Are you crazy? The water would freeze a Floridian like you half to death!" There was a pause and his expression darkened. "And I am not taking a chance on your life Jamie."

A shiver ran down my spine when he said that last sentence. When he used that tone, I could no longer find the comforting, carefree quality that I was accustomed to hearing in Jacob's voice. I cringed internally as I recalled the two incidents when his mood had swung into that somber quality. The first time had occurred last Sunday, when I'd accused Jacob of being a sexual predator. The other time had happened when I had mentioned my death, just joking around at the lunch table. Jacob had begun to shake, as he always seemed to do when he was upset. I would not be dying anytime soon, he had vowed in that same humorless tenor, he would not allow it. The lunch table abruptly grew silent, wondering if Jacob was serious or not, until Alex (bless his heart) had cracked a really lame blonde joke. Everyone but Jacob had chuckled nervously. For the rest of the day Jacob had been agitated and withdrawn, refusing to talk about anything. I had no idea what he had meant when he'd said that, but I did know that his grave character meant that he was serious. Dead serious. I looked at him, hoping today would be different. I breathed out a sigh of relief. Apparently, it would be different. "Well what are we doing then?"

"Hang out, see the tide pools, possibly meet up with Quil and Embry," Jacob said.

"Did you say tide pools?" I questioned lightly. He nodded. "Well that has me sold. Let's go!

We drove past the entrance of my neighborhood towards La Push. I began to think about what I hadn't considered since last Monday. Telling him, I mean, about my feelings for him. I was afraid that if I didn't tell him soon we would be forever trapped in this friendship phase, which I was finding harder and harder to maintain. I wanted to be held in his strong arms (not just because I was upset) to touch his face and hold his hand. But what if he didn't feel the same about me? What if he only liked me as a friend? If I told him would it be too awkward to continue our friendship? I'd rather be a friend who was desperate for more than nothing at all. However, he would find out eventually. And anyway, Jacob deserved the truth, and I would rather tell it to him straight. I had to. I swallowed as reality set in.

"It might not have been such a good day to go to the beach," Jacob interrupted my thoughts, "I think it might start drizzling." As if on cue, a light rain began to patter the car. He frowned.

"Don't worry," I answered, watching the windshield wipers fling rain off the side of his car. "If rain bothered me, I'd be pretty screwed."

"That's true," Jacob smiled.

Finally, we reached the beach (or rather, the path _to_ the beach). Jacob got out and opened my door. I pulled up the hood of my jacket and hopped out of the car, slipping on the wet bracken. Jacob grabbed my arm just in time to steady me. I glanced at him. "Thanks." He removed his grip, leaving a warm, tingling sensation. I rubbed the spot, not wanting it to fade. I was suddenly very aware of what I would be doing as soon as we reached the water. My stomach did a nervous flip.

"C'mon, Jamie." I caught up to him, wringing my hands. Ice cold rain stung my bare face and I shivered, but ignored the discomfort like a true Forks girl would. The roar of the ocean grew louder and it's briny aroma more prominent as I approached it. A sense of familiarity washed over me causing the worst of my nerves to disappear. It was just the beach—nothing bad could happen in a place that held such great memories…sandcastles, fried chicken, warm seawater, and laughter. We emerged from the La Push forest after a few minutes of walking and my gaze went immediately to the ocean. It was, in many ways, different than the Gulf of Mexico, the surf was rough and drift wood littered the ground, but it was still essentially the same. The sound, smell, wind, and sand…the sand! I bent down and began untying my shoes.

"What are you doing?" Jacob's amused voice came from behind me. I had forgotten he was there. I kicked off the first one.

"Taking off my shoes," I replied, still hunched over, a smile in my voice.

"And why would you be doing that?" He moved in front of me. I shook off the other one and started to take off my socks. "Jamie you'll get frostbite or something!" I ignored him and pulled them off. I dug my toes into the wet sand, straightening. I sighed appreciatively and closed my eyes. There was nothing better than sand between your toes…even if the sand was a bit chilly. "Jamie! C'mon put your shoes back on," he pleaded. In answer, I buried my feet even deeper. I heard a frustrated growl and grinned slightly.

"You're a hypocrite, you know that?" I exhaled, opening my eyes. His face was unbelievabley concerned. "You go around in cut-off jeans and a t-shirt," I paused considering something, "sometimes even _less,_ and then get pissed at _me_ when I take off my shoes. I bet you're not even--," I looked at his feet. They were shoeless, as I should have expected earlier. My eyes narrowed. "You've got to be kidding me!" Jacob's lack of clothing did shock me. It _was_ pretty cold outside, I had to admit. And he hardly seemed to be bothered by it all. I knew Jacob was warm and all but…

"I guess I am a hypocrite aren't I?" He grinned sheepishly causing me to forget about his mysterious ability to ward off the cold and my heart to beat faster, which, in turn, reminded me of what I was _supposed_ to be doing. I grimaced.

"Let's go for a walk Jacob," I murmured, trying to remain unwavering in my choice to reveal the truth.

Jacob's brow furrowed at my tone. He looked as if he was about to say something....but gave up, and glanced off into the horizon instead. I didn't like it when he did that. I grabbed my sopping shoes and socks and moved them over by the path. If the rain ruined them, there was no preventing it now. They were already soaked.

We strolled down the shoreline, barefoot and silent. The rain began to fall down harder completely saturating my clothing with water. _I have to do it,_ I told myself, _I have to._ I took a deep breath and finally worked up the nerve to do it.

"Ja--," I said, only to be interrupted by him.

"Ja—," he'd said in unison. We both peered at each other, waiting for the other to finish. If I hadn't felt so sick I would have smiled.

"You go first," Jacob offered.

"No, you go," I grasped at the opportunity to hold off my discussion a few more moments longer. "Mine will take long, anyway."

Jacob grimaced. "Mine will, too." He looked apprehensive for reasons unknown to me.

"No really, I insist." I let out a dry laugh.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes, Jacob," I assured him, exasperated, "I _want _you to go first. Trust me."

He seemed to be battling internally over something. "Okay…" he sounded reluctant, "if that's what you want Jamie." He pulled me over to a driftwood log. "Here…you might want to sit down for this." He ran his fingers through his wet hair and groaned. "How am I supposed to put this?"

"Just tell me," I pressed, sensing something big behind his words.

He took a deep breath and looked away. "I-I really like you Jamie." I froze. He didn't mean it _that_ way Jamie. Calm down. He couldn't.

My throat was so dry. "Me too, Jacob, I really like you, too," I croaked, coloring my tone with fake cheerfulness, "as a friend, of course." _Liar_, I told myself. He brought his eyes around to meet mine, and I suddenly became breathless. He took my cold wet hands between his warm, comforting hands.

"Not as a friend Jamie. I _like_ you. I want to be with you." I still couldn't breathe. Jacob wanted to be with _me._ Jamie the unlovable. Before I could tell him that I felt the same way, he dropped my hands and began to talk again, pacing. "If you don't like me I understand, Jamie. I mean, you hated me three weeks ago." Not _like_ him?! "And I guess there's _Alex,"_ his voice was full of distaste._ "_Its fine, I'll…I don't know, make my feelings for you go away. I just want you to be happy." I felt a smile spread slowly across my face. He went on, "I know I've made mistakes before and I just want you to know that--,"

"Jacob," I interrupted him, impatient. He turned and looked at my face, and I put a finger to his lips. "Relax." For a second he looked confused. His eyes ran across my expression and it began to dawn on him. He took my hand from his face and entwined our fingers together.

"You...?" he couldn't finish the question. My dazed grin grew even wider. "Seriously?" I nodded. An expression of pure joy appeared on his face. "Oh Jamie," his voice was full of emotion. He sat down next to me and grabbed my hands once again. "You are so amazing." Our eyes locked and only the cold rain kept me from collapsing. His face moved closer to mine and I realized that he was going to kiss me. I didn't protest. Finally, his soft, warm lips touched mine. My heart climbed up my throat, beating furiously. I kissed him back in the same gentle way he was kissing me. When we finally pulled away from each other our foreheads rested against each other, noses barely touching. We were comfortably silent. Just this simple gesture was more intimate than anything I had done with Mark. It felt like our souls were fusing together. This uniting of souls was irrevocable, I realized, and strangely, the thought didn't scare me as much as I thought it would. The day was slipping away, darkness creeping around us, and the rain had finally stopped. With a sigh I reluctantly pulled away. Jacob seemed bewildered.

"It's late," I answered his unspoken question in a murmur.

"Oh," he frowned, "Do you have to go home or can you eat dinner at my place? I think Billy's making spaghetti."

"That'd be fine…more than fine actually," I said smiling. Thank God it was too dark for him to see me blush.

We walked on the shore towards the path, this time as a couple; our hands were laced together and every once in a while we would glance at each other from the corner of our eyes and smile. When we reached the path I shoved on my shoes, not bothering to tie them. I'd definitely have to rinse them and my feet off when I got to Jacob's house as they were covered in wet sand. Once we reached the car (Jacob holding the door open for me, of course), I said, "You know what I was going to tell you today on the beach?" Jacob smacked his head.

"I totally forgot! Here you can tell me on the way to my house." He quickly went over to the driver's side and climbed in, starting the car and pulling out. He looked over at me expectantly. "Well?"

"It's not that important Jacob," I laughed, then added more seriously, "Well at least not now." A crease appeared between Jacob's eyebrows. He was probably wondering what I meant. "I was going to tell you the same thing you told me. You really saved me, I was pretty damn nervous."

I thought the grin on Jacob's face would split him in half. "Really?"

"Really," I promised him.

"Well damn!" he exclaimed.

"What?" I asked, stunned.

"I really wish I had let you go first," he chuckled. "You know to hear you confess your undying love for me."

I groaned. "You are such an idiot, Jake." Impossibly, his grin grew wider. I shook my head and looked out the window but grabbed his free hand in mine, to let him know that, idiot or not, he was mine.

* * *

The first word that comes to mind when you walk into Jacob's house is definitely homey. The way it was slightly messy, there were shoes on the floor, empty soda cans on the coffee table, and a few newspapers on the round dinner table; the smell, rich and laced with the scent I distinctively associated with Jacob, giving me a feeling of family, of welcome; the feel of the soft carpet underneath my bare feet; and the noise of banging in the kitchen, a discordant male voice singing, and the more subtle hum of the radiator, made Jacob's house pretty much the exact translation of the word. The atmosphere in that house, well, it made me want to stay there forever.

"Sorry for the mess," Jacob apologized, embarrassed.

"It's not messy," I disagreed smiling, "Just lived in."

Jacob shook his head, "Whatever Jamie."

"No really," I assured him, "Your house is great. It smells good."

He gave me a strange look. "It smells good?"

"Yeah," my voice was defensive, "You don't notice that when you walk into a house?"

"Well I do _now, _but not before I…" He trailed off and looked away quickly.

"Before you what?" He was hiding something _again_.

"Nothing," he muttered. I glared at him and he continued to avoid eye contact.

"Whatever Jake," I frowned. Suddenly Jacob's stomach growled. It seemed such an improper sound for the tense air that I couldn't help but laugh. Seeming relieved, Jacob joined in.

"Jacob is that you?" A gruff voice called from the kitchen.

"Yeah," Jacob answered. He smiled down at me, "My dad."

"Yeah. Billy right? He was at the party." Jacob nodded.

"I invited the rest of the P—," Billy was interrupted.

"Hey Dad, guess who's here?" Jacob's voice was too loud and enthusiastic to be genuine. My eyes narrowed. Jacob glanced at me guiltily and grabbed my hand, squeezing it. I hated to admit it, but this comparatively unimportant, small gesture created butterflies in my stomach. I snapped out of my daze and remembered my suspicions. Before I could start another argument, though, Billy wheeled in, a slight smile on his worn, wise face. His sharp eyes immediately locked onto our entwined hands. His smile grew.

"This must be Jamie," he greeted knowingly, leveling a meaningful gaze at Jacob before turning to me. He extended his hand towards me. "It's nice to finally meet the girl my son has been talking so much about." I blushed furiously and reached out shyly to shake his weathered hands.

"Nice to meet you, too." My voice was barely audible.

"Dad you embarrassed her," Jacob complained, sounding pretty embarrassed himself. Billy merely smiled.

"As I was saying before, I invited your, er, _friends_ over to have dinner, too," Billy told his son. As if on cue, the door flew open hitting the wall with a bam. Booming laughter filled the room and two boys locked together wrestling fell in. I jumped out of the way of one of the boy's kicking legs, startled. Jacob stepped in front of me protectively. Kim walked in next, shaking her head with a smile on her face, followed by Paul and Nadia; Nadia was frowning anxiously at the scuffle in front of her while Paul was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Three of Jacob's friends, whose identities I couldn't remember, squeezed in; Leah was close behind, watching with distaste. Sam and Emily appeared behind her, both grinning slightly. I sighed in relief. I was pretty sure that that was all of them. Still, I moved myself a little more behind Jacob so that no one would notice me.

"Ten bucks on Jared," Paul bet.

"Ten on Embry," One of the other boys, Seth I thought, retorted.

The other two boys, Collin and Brady, quickly took sides. Jacob didn't contribute.

"Hey where's Quil?" Jacob asked loudly.

"Sulking," Sam answered, "He's coming though."

"Claire, I'm guessing?" Jacob assumed. Claire the four year old? Why would Quil be sulking about her? Maybe he had to babysit her or something…

"Who else?" Sam chuckled. Before I verbalize my question, the fight escalated.

"Alright you two break it up," Billy chided, "You're upsetting our guest."

The two boys broke apart reluctantly and stood up, looking around. Everyone else looked confused. Obviously, I had hidden well. Once they knew someone else was there though their eyes quickly found me. Everyone in the room smiled happily, even Leah managed to lift one of the corners of her mouth.

"Ha ha! Yes!" Embry crowed, "Jake finally got the girl!"

"Congrats man!" Seth.

"Finally! No more whining! I didn't think I could take it anymore! 'What if she doesn't like me?'" Paul mimicked in a high voice. Jacob glared at him. "What?"

I gazed up at Jacob, who was staring at his feet and blushing. "How many people did you talk to about me?"

"Pretty much anyone that would listen," Jacob admitted, unwillingly. "I thought, well...think, about you all the time, Jamie." I must have been as red as a tomato at that point.

"Me too," I murmured, "You make me so happy." Jacob's face was filled with wonder. I got completely lost in his beautiful, abysmal, brown eyes until one of the boys cleared his throat. I stumbled back from Jacob, feeling self conscience. The moment was over. I stared at the floor.

"As much as I love awkward silences you guys," Collin commented, sounding amused, "I am really too hungry to enjoy this one. Let's eat."

"The foods in the kitchen," Billy said resignedly. All the guys, plus Leah, charged towards the kitchen, leaving me with Kim, Nadia, and Emily. Kim ran up to me and gave me a hug.

"I'm so excited for you!" she squealed, "You two are too cute!" Emily rolled her eyes and I held back a snicker. "So how much do you like him?"

My eyes dropped to the floor. "A lot," I confessed, "It's weird for me to like him this much…I don't usually…trust guys. I've had, um, bad experiences. Sometimes I get worried, but Jacob, well, he just…" I trailed off unable to explain how safe Jacob made me feel, how happy. But the three girls nodded in understanding.

"I know. It's hard to put it in words," Nadia spoke for the first time.

"Love is always that way," Emily said wisely. Wait…what?

"I am not in love," I snapped angrily, "We've only been dating for three hours! How dare you even think that!" They looked shocked at my reaction. "Love!" I scoffed. I spun around and walked straight into…I clenched my fists ready to severely injure whoever was in my way but quickly changed my mind when I saw it was Jacob. His expression was pained and my heart broke when I realized that he had overheard our conversation. "Jacob," I murmured, regretful. I wound my arms around his warm waist and pressed my face into his shirt. Hesitantly his arms encircled me. This was all their fault! For even bringing up the notion that I was in love! I wasn't in love. I couldn't be! It was impossible. I groaned inwardly and pulled back. "Let's go eat," I sighed.

We walked outside, food in hand. Jacob seemed aloof. I didn't know why he was making such a big deal out of it. I mean it's not like he loved me. We weren't in that stage yet, probably not even close. Right before we turned the corner of the house I stopped and grabbed Jacob's hand. "Please don't be mad at me," I begged him.

His eyes widened in surprise. "Mad? Why would you think I'm mad at you," he asked.

"Well," I sought out the right words, "You're being quiet and you heard what I said to Emily and them."

He frowned. "Don't ever think I'm mad at you, Jamie. I can't be. I think it's literally impossible for me to be actually angry with you. I was just thinking." His eyes shone with honesty.

"Are you sure?" I mumbled.

He rolled his eyes, "C'mon."

We found two empty seats at the large table that was surrounded by party Tiki Torches and sat down trying to catch up on the conversation. Quil had finally shown up, an empty expression on his face. I really had never seen someone look so depressed.

"She's going to her grandma's for a month while Kristen and Adam go on vacation!" He moaned, "A whole freaking month!"

Jacob let out a low whistle. "That sucks man. Did you talk to Kristen about it?"

"Yes," Quil spit bitterly, "She was like, 'You need to let Claire learn to live without you! She won't always have you around.' And then I said, 'Yes I will! I'll always be there for Claire. How can you even think that?!' Then she went on in this annoying, logical voice that Claire was going to school soon and that believe it or not I can't go to kindergarten with her and that I need to realize that I can't always be with her! That even though we have the whole, uh, thing going on, Claire's her daughter and she can do whatever she feels is necessary for Claire to live a happy and healthy life. Like I'm not doing that for her! And now she's got me thinking about school! Claire'll be gone for half the day! What will I do?" He sounded agonized. I was unsure of what to think. All of this was about a four year old?

"Little Claire?" I asked Jacob quietly, trying to understand the cause of Quil's distress. He nodded. I cleared my throat. "Um, well, I don't think I understand," I began. Quil's eyes focused on me. Maybe if I provoked him I could get an answer. "I'm sorry, I just don't get what's the big deal. Don't make such a fuss...it'll only be a month, right? You know, I'm sure it'll be better for you since you won't have to babysit and all. More free time to do...teenage stuff. I mean, hanging out with a four-year-old constantly must get pretty annoying. I know I'd be really annoyed..." I ended my rant immediately, realizing, then, that I had just made a very big mistake. Quil was positively livid. He was shaking so tremendously that his figure almost blurred. I shrank back in fear and Jacob's hand tightened around mine. He looked like he couldn't figure out what he was going to do.

"No. You obviously don't understand," he agreed coldly.

"S-sorry Quil," I managed to stutter out, "I-I didn't mean to offend you." Quil laughed sardonically.

"Quil," Jacob's voice pleaded, "She said she was sorry."

"You need to go calm down," Sam commanded.

Quil shoved away from the table and shot up. Suddenly I was out of my seat and behind a very tense Jacob. "No. I don't. But I do think that maybe Jacob's bitch of girlfriend needs to keep her fucking nose out of other people's damn business." Nadia was sobbing. I didn't blame her, I was pretty close to sobbing myself.

"What did you call her?" Jacob's icy voice shot back. He began to quiver as well.

"I believe I called her a bitch," Quil smirked.

Jacob knocked over the table, the variety of objects shattering to the floor, the terrorizing crash breaking through the deafening silence. "Apologize to her!" he roared, his eyes ablaze.

"Jake, please stop," I implored him tears leaking out of my eyes.

"Jamie. I think you need to go inside," Jacob sounded eerily calm.

"No," I said firmly through my tears, "I'm not. You need to stop and make nice. I don't want you two to get in a fight 'cause of me."

"Jacob you need to listen to her. You're scaring her half to death. You ought to be ashamed of yourself." Sam turned to Quil, "Quil, same goes to you, she doesn't understand what she said. You're in a bad mood about Claire and you're letting it out on others. You endangered everyone in here because of your inability to control your temper, something you haven't had a problem with for a while now. What if Claire had been here when she said that?" The layer of authority in Sam's voice worked wonders on Quil and Jacob; they gradually regained their composure. When everyone realized the fight had been avoided, they relaxed as well. Paul led out Nadia, whispering soothing things in her ear. I was blubbering mess, by now. "Now I want you two to apologize to each other and to Jamie. We will not have any hostility in this family." Family? I wiped my eyes and looked up, a thousand more questions in my eyes.

The boys turned to each other, heads hung in shame. They muttered their sorry's to each other and then faced me. Quil spoke first. "Sorry Jamie," he began quietly, "I wasn't really angry at you, just my situation. But I took it out on you." He smiled apologetically, "Forgive me?" I nodded my head stiffly, letting out a muffled sob.

"Jamie?" I looked over at Jacob. His eyes carried immense horror and concern. "You don't know how sorry I am that I scared you," he said, seeming repulsed at what he'd done. "I was just…" He paused and glanced at Quil. "And I'm sorry that this was such a crappy night. Let me make up to you this Friday after exams, we'll do something."

"Just us?" I asked thoughtlessly, my voice thick from crying. I suddenly remembered that we weren't alone. "Oh sorry guys," I sniffled.

"It's fine," Emily smiled understandingly.

"Just us," Jacob assured me.

"You're forgiven," I grinned cautiously, ceasing my tears. Just then, my cell phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered the phone.

"Hey Jamie, it's Alex."

"Alex!" I grinned. "You'll never guess…" I looked around. "One sec." I mouthed 'sorry' to everyone outside, headed around the house to the front, and leaned against Jacob's Rabbit. "Kay, you'll never guess what happened! Me and Jacob are together!"

"Really? I'm so happy for you Jamie! Told you he liked you."

"Yeah and we kissed!"

"Already? Wait, was he any good?"

I laughed. "Amazing. Ten times better than Mark."

"Lucky," Alex joked.

"But the weirdest thing happened at dinner. Jacob and his friend, Quil, almost got in this huge fight and they were shaking all over—you've seen Jacob do it! And then, Sam, the oldest there besides Jake's dad, started talking about how they had been a danger to everyone in their family! I don't even think most of them are related anyway. And the guy Quil, well he has this obsession over a four year old girl."

"What?"

"I know, weird, right? He was complaining about how she was staying at her grandma's for a month and he was really freaking out about it, too. That's how the fight started, I told him I didn't understand what the big deal was and I thought he was going to explode!"

"Well I'm sure there's a reason for it all, Jamie, there always is. Anyway, are you ready to prank tonight?"

I smacked myself on the forehead. "Crap! I totally forgot! I'm so sorry! I…I don't know if I can. I'm kind of busy here. And it's the end of the year prank, too!"

"It's fine, Jamie, don't worry. Hey love is more important than a stupid prank any day. Go have fun with Jacob."

I groaned. "Not you too! I am not in love!"

"Uh huh," he said skeptically, "Says the girl who swore that she'd die if Jacob didn't like her'"

I pressed my lips together remembering how I hadn't been lying when I had confessed that. "That doesn't mean anything," I hedged, lying through my teeth, "and anyways, I was just caught up in the moment."

"Sure you were," he chuckled.

"Shut up Alex! I probably just…well…I don't know!" I retorted, irritated, "Probably it's just some hormonal imbalance that happens to girls my age. Maybe I'm starting my period or something." Although, I couldn't deny the fact that the thought of Jacob not liking me made my stomach churn in resentment. I almost felt like I would throw up if we continued to discuss it further. "Let's…not talk about this anymore," I muttered.

"You shouldn't be afraid of love Jamie," Alex murmured sadly. This struck a nerve. Like he actually knew me!

"I'm not afraid of love," I snapped. Alex didn't answer. This was getting too close to a fight. "Look, I have to get back to the party," I said tiredly, "I'll see you this Monday."

"See you."

I snapped the phone shut and put my head in my hands. _He's right you know_, some inner voice taunted me. _Alex doesn't know anything_, I responded, pushing the thought away. What I felt for Jacob wasn't love, it was…something else. I headed back around to the party and sat down quietly, leaning on Jacob's chest and every once in awhile smiling at the boys antics. Jacob's thumb rubbed my hand and he looked down at me every so often with an expression on his face that made me feel more beautiful than the stars above us. I knew that I wouldn't trade the moment for anything and couldn't help but think that maybe Alex and Emily were right, maybe this feeling was love.

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	17. Chapter 16: Secrets

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Disclaimer: We do not own Twilight!

**Hey! So we really don't feel like writing in conversations today. Sorry. And we want to apologize for how late this is, but the good news is that we should be pretty free from now on. Also we want to thank everyone who reviewed, MintCcIceCream, Jacob Did Not Imprint, iRedeem, SlowTheRain, and Only4Miken. You guys rock! Oh, and to all those who celebrate it, Merry Christmas!, and to those who don't, Happy Holidays!**

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**Jamie's Point of View**

The last week of school, as always, dragged. Jacob and I studied for exams together after school. I learned that Jacob wasn't the brightest kid when it came to academics; when I tried to explain things to him, we got nowhere.

"Oh well, I'm not going to college, anyway," Jacob shrugged his shoulders.

I looked up from the calculus work I was showing him, "What?"

"I said that I wasn't going to college."

"Why the hell not?" I demanded, appalled.

"Well I'm not smart enough, obviously, and I have my hands full with…other things," Jacob drawled, nonchalant.

"You're smart enough. If you would just pay attention in school, Jacob…" I trailed off, my thoughts traveling in a different direction, "anyway, how else are you going to support yourself?" I asked Jacob, concerned.

"Jamie, calm down, I have it covered," Jacob smiled, "Please don't worry about me."

I sighed, but let the conversation drop.

When we weren't studying I was hanging out with Jacob's friends at the Uley's house. I grew to love the way they would fill the room with laughter and would tease everyone, including myself. I also discovered that Quil was actually quite nice, actually calmer then the others, while Collin, Brady, Leah, Embry, and sometimes Paul and Seth, were prone to fits of temper, where they would shake all over and run out of the house at a warning glance from Jacob or Sam. I also became friends with Nadia, Emily, and Kim. They were all great people. Kim was fun and smart, easy to be around. Emily was a very warm and motherly person. When I asked Jacob about the scars on Emily's face he had winced and told me that she had been mauled by a bear. Nadia was very, not shy exactly, but reserved, and she couldn't stand violence. Kim said she had had a bad childhood. I also got to know Claire a little more. I adored her long, nonsensical fairy tales and the changes of tone and the gesticulations that went along with them. And of course, she would have her four-year old temper tantrums where, even if her mom Kristen was there, Quil was the only one who could calm her down. Quil would just stare into her pretty brown eyes and hold her tenderly and little Claire's screams would gradually turn into tiny sniffles and sobs. It was times like these that I found the bond between Quil and Claire unnerving, causing me to think back to the episode at Jacob's house.

Getting to know everyone allowed me to finally understand why Sam had called Jacob and his friends a family, they seemed to fit together like a puzzle in a way that could have only been predestined. After watching them all together I longed to be part of the family as well. Sometimes, though, I would reconsider these fantasies. A vast secret lurked behind all the pleasant banter and friendships—and it scared me. I finally had a serious discussion about it with Jacob on Thursday.

Claire was about to leave for her grandmother's house for two weeks (Quil had managed to have Claire stay with Emily and Sam for part of the time her parents were on vacation) and Quil was spending her last few hours in Washington with her. Jacob, Collin, Brady and I were there. When the doorbell rang, Quil froze with dread. Collin sighed. "Well I hate to do this to you man, but…" He rose and opened the door. "Hey Kristen." Kristen looked almost exactly like Emily, as they were sisters. When you looked at her you could almost imagine how Emily looked before the bear attack.

"Good luck," Collin warned her, rolling his eyes. Kristen closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths preparing herself for Quil's wrath I was sure.

"C'mon Claire, time to go hon," Kristen announced warily.

Claire looked up from the doll she was playing with, with an expression that could only mean that she was about to throw a fit. She ran over to Quil and latched onto him, crying.

"No!" Claire whined. "I won't! I want to stay with Quil!! Go away!" Kristen winced. I wondered how it would feel to have a daughter who loved a boy more than it's mother at the age of four. Quil's eyes were emotionless.

"Claire," Kristen cautioned, "We have to go now." She approached the devastated toddler and began to pry her off Quil.

"No! No! NO!" Her legs kicked out at her mom. "Quil, don't let me go!!!"

"Claire do you want me to take away movie privileges in the car?" She tugged at Claire but found that Quil was clinging to her. "Quil, you're going to have to let go."

"I don't think I can," Quil whispered.

"Quil let go _please_," Kristen begged.

"I think this is a bad idea Kristen," Quil's voice was dangerous.

"Are you saying that I don't know what's best for _my_ child," Kristen questioned angrily.

"Maybe I am," Quil snapped.

"Quil," Kristen reasoned, teeth gritted, "I am being _very_ open in letting you hang around my daughter especially since you have that—that condition. I mean what good mother wouldn't be worried when they discovered that their child has some weird bond with a—." Jacob cleared his throat loudly muffling her words. Kristen glanced at me with a guilty expression on her face. What the hell? Bond? "You have, in a sense, stolen one of my daughters away from me. And I can not deny that you love her more than yourself and I believe that you are a mature, responsible man and I like you Quil. But, please, let me have my daughter for two weeks."

Quil was conflicted. You could see it in his tense hands and furrowed brow. The way he looked upon Claire as if it almost hurt. Eventually though, he pulled Claire close and murmured, "Love ya Claire Bear. I'll call you tomorrow." He thrust Claire into her mom's arms and looked down. Claire let out an ear-splitting scream. Quil couldn't seem to watch them leave, even though Claire was hanging onto the edge of the door begging him to not let her go. You could hear Claire wailing Quil's name till they drove off. I really didn't envy Kristen. The room was unbearably silent. We were all staring Quil. He was shaking violently, tormented by Claire's absence. Jacob caught me from behind and pulled me into his warm body. Collin and Brady moved towards Quil warily and touched his arms.

"C'mon buddy let's go," Brady soothed.

"It's gonna be alright," Collin pulled him out the door with the help of Brady.

When we were finally alone Jacob sighed wearily. "Man, that's rough." I turned to face him, placing my hands on his broad chest.

"Yeah it is," I agreed, my voice lacking the right emotions.

"What?"

"I don't think _you_ should be the one asking the questions, Jacob Black." Jacob sighed wearily and tried to sweep me up into his arms. I resisted, glaring at him. "Nice try, but a measly hug won't distract me. What was Kristen talking about?"

"Nothing," Jacob said quickly. I pushed away from him and crossed my hands over my chest.

"Of _course._ It's nothing. Why didn't I guess that?" My voice, dripping with sarcasm, grew angry, "That's all it _ever_ is Jacob!"

"Jamie, _please _calm down. It's nothing to get worked up—"

"No. Don't ever say it's 'nothing' again. I'm not stupid. I know there's something going on. When you say that, you're _lying_ to me, Jake." I dug my finger into his chest. "I want to know what's going on. And I want to know _now._"

Jacob wouldn't meet my eyes. "You're not ready."

I gave him a disbelieving look. "Like I've never heard_ that_ one before! Way to go, Jake!" I threw up my hands in frustration.

"It's complicated. If I tell you…it's just…" he looked away. "You won' t like me anymore."

"What?" Not _like_ him? Was he out of his mind? I wrapped my arms around his waist. "Don't be stupid, Jake. Nothing could make me not like you."

"I wouldn't be so sure," he mumbled guiltily.

"Jacob," I murmured, "don't think that." I shook my head. It couldn't be that bad, whatever his secret was. I just couldn't understand why he wouldn't tell me. I was about to say something to argue my point, but he put his hand over my mouth and smiled.

"Later," he promised leaning towards me. I assumed that he meant telling me the secret. I turned my head so that his lips met my cheek. He frowned.

"When?" I asked stubbornly. He groaned.

"Tomorrow," he held my face in his hands, forcing my eyes to meet his. I couldn't get enough air.

"Promise?"

"Promise." And then his lips met mine. Everything burst into flames, destroying all thoughts of caution. I was consumed by heat, by Jacob. This was so unlike our first kiss, which had been so sweet and pure. This…this was uncontrollable. Nothing was enough. My hands latched into his hair, pulling myself closer to him. He tasted so good. His burning, calloused hands were roaming across my waist and thighs, sometimes slipping under the hem of my shirt and touching the sensitive skin of my abdomen. A strange, warm feeling settled deep in my stomach. I didn't want anything more than Jacob in that moment. My heart was pounding frantically against the inside of my chest as my legs latched around his muscular torso, throwing myself even more into the kiss. He bit my bottom lip gently, causing me to moan into his mouth. Mark and I had never had a make-out session that felt _this _intense before, and we had been together for two years. It was too much. Too much for week one. I tried to pull away but my body resisted my resolve. I couldn't bring myself to stop. One of my hands left his hair and traveled down his solid chest. Too much.

"We…need," I gasped around his lips, "I think…we need…to…stop." Jacob let out a frustrated growl, but moved his lips to my neck, right below my ear. I moaned again.

"Why?" he demanded, his voice husky with desire. I wavered. Maybe…no. This has gone too far.

"We're…getting carried…away," I panted. Jacob groaned, but loosened his grip on me so I could slide to the ground. I leaned my head against his chest breathing heavily. It took a second for me to speak. "Wow."

Jacob shook with silent laughter, "Is that all you can say?" I nodded. Just then, the door flew open. Embry and Seth burst in, snickering. I quickly pulled away from Jacob, and stood beside him, holding his hand. They eyed us and their laughter died down. Blushing furiously, I made an attempt to smooth my hair and pull down my shirt which had been pushed up, exposing my skin. One look at my frazzled expression caused Seth and Embry to fall down laughing. I scowled.

"We'll leave you two alone," Embry sniggered, winking at Jake and me. I dropped his hand, causing them to laugh even harder.

On their way out the door Seth called, "You two are almost as bad as Jared and Kim! If that's even possible!" The door slammed shut.

Jacob snarled. "Idiots!" he yelled, only succeeding in causing another round of laughter to float through an open window.

"Well that was absolutely mortifying," I muttered, clasping my fingers together. Jacob wrapped me into an embrace apologetically. I suddenly remembered our discussion a while ago. "I won't forget your promise tomorrow."

Jacob chuckled. "You aren't easily distracted are you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Nope."

That night I tossed and turned in bed, too excited for tomorrow to sleep. Or maybe apprehensive was a better word. Despite what I had said to Jacob about not caring about what his secret was, I did. Jacob thought that it was bad enough to make me not like him anymore and this set endless questions bouncing around my head.

When I finally did get to sleep I dreamed of the day Alex told me he was gay.

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The next day I rushed through my last exam, even though going quickly wasn't going to change how long I would be in school. After I had checked over it a few times I found myself drifting off into a half-conscience state. I had only slept a few hours the night before.

"Jamie," someone shook my shoulders, "Wake up. The exam is over." I lifted my head.

"Huh?" I mumbled. It was Danielle. She sighed.

"You're probably keeping Jacob waiting. You told him to pick you up an hour ago."

I woke up at the sound of Jacob's name. "Jacob?" I rubbed my eyes and noticed that Danielle was staring anxiously at the door. "Go meet Tommy, Danielle. I'm awake." She nodded her head in thanks and hurried out the door.

I picked up my pencil, shoved it into my back pocket, and shrugged on my rain jacket. The classroom was already empty. It was the last day of school after all. I headed outside. My eyes immediately found Jacob. He was leaning on his Rabbit, letting the rain pelt his bare chest. My heart beat a little faster. He was watching the front of the school intently. When he saw me, running to avoid the downpour, his face broke into a wide grin. He opened the door for me as soon as I reached it. I jumped in quickly, slamming the door shut behind me. Jacob slipped in the other side, unaffected by the rain. "Hey Jake," I spoke quietly after he was on the road. He smiled at me.

"So how were exams?" I grimaced. Jacob had exempted all but two exams somehow.

"I fell asleep."

He laughed. "That bad, huh?"

"Shut up."

"Sorry," he beamed. "Wanna go over to Sam's?"

"Nope," I replied.

"Why?" He seemed confused.

"I have to get ready for a date tonight," I smiled, "Can't go looking like this." I gestured towards my jeans and a t-shirt outfit.

Jacob frowned. "What? You don't have to do anything. You're beautiful no matter what you wear." My throat swelled with emotion.

I couldn't speak for a second. "You're just saying that."

Jacob seemed offended. "No, Jamie. I'm telling the truth. You're the most beautiful girl I know." He smiled at me and I blushed.

"Well it doesn't matter, anyway. Getting ready is a part of the date."

Jacob scowled but turned into my neighborhood. When he parked in front of my house I said, "Speaking of our date, where are we going?"

"You'll find out," he smiled. I gave him a frustrated look. He chuckled and leaned over to give me a small kiss. I reddened. That was new. "Wear something warm," he advised as I got out of his car, "I'll be here at a quarter before seven. Bye Jamie."

"Bye." I waved to him as he pulled out of the drive way. I walked into my house a huge grin on my face. I had a date with Jacob tonight. Someone cleared their throat. I froze. Dad. He was sitting on the couch with today's newspaper folded beside him. He had a stern expression on his face. Uh-oh. "Hey Dad, why are you home this early?" I played dumb.

He ignored me. "Well, look at who actually decided to come home before curfew?"

So that's what this is about. "C'mon Dad, I only missed curfew once this week," I argued.

"Jamie you've barely made it home in time all week."

"Sorry Dad, it's just that—"

"Mom says you've been hanging out with a guy lately." I flinched.

"Um yeah, Jacob Black."

My dad's eyes narrowed. "I've heard about that kid…He's part of the La Push gang."

What? I held back a laugh. "Gang? Jacob's not part of a gang, he just has a bunch of friends is all."

"Humph."

"Dad, Jacob is a nice guy."

"Are you two dating?"

"What? Where did that come from?" He looked at me pointedly. I sighed. "We've been together since last week. I'm going on a date with him tonight so I might break curfew."

He muttered something that sounded like, 'well at least she's dating,' and then said, "I want to meet him."

"Sure Dad. Jacob would love to meet you."

"Good." He picked up his newspaper and began to read. I let out a gust of air. The worst was over. I turned to go to my bedroom. "Jamie?" What now?

"Yes Dad?"

"Is this Jacob kid why you've been so happy lately?" I blinked in shock. Had my parents actually noticed the dark ages of my life? They had seemed so oblivious…

I struggled to answer. "Yes," I murmured, blushing slightly, "Jacob, he…he makes me very happy."

My dad nodded. "Well then, I hope for your sake that he's a good kid."

"He is Dad," I assured him, "I like him a lot." _Maybe even love,_ my mind added. I clenched my fist nervously; where had that come from? I retreated quickly to my room. I grabbed my phone off my desk and called Jacob.

"Hullo?" Jacob husky voice brought a smile to my face.

"Hi, it's me."

"Jamie," Jacob answered happily, "Do you want me to pick you up now?"

I almost wanted to say yes. It was ridiculous, but I already missed him. Instead, I laughed. "No, but you can pick me up fifteen minutes early, my dad wants to meet you. You don't mind, do you?" I asked worriedly.

"'Course not. I _want_ to meet your family."

"Yeah my parents both getting to know you will make life easier," I admitted.

"Do they know who I am?"

"Uh yeah. My dad was upset at first. He said you were in a gang," I laughed again. Suddenly, there was a bang and many voices, muffled by the phone.

"Hey, Jamie, I have to go," Jacob said quickly.

"Oh, okay," my voice rang with disappointment. A little chuckle left Jacob's mouth.

"See you at six thirty Jamie. Bye."

"Bye…"

I shut the phone and fell onto my bed, feeling restless. I stared at my cream colored walls for about ten seconds then wished I was standing up again. I groaned in frustration and got out of bed. I glanced at my clock, it was 3:30. Too early to start getting ready. I groaned again. Maybe I should have went over to Jacob's for a little while. I rubbed my temples miserably. When had I ever been this excited to see someone? Stupid, idiotic, overgrown, insanely amazing boy. I kicked my bed and then winced at the pain that shot up my leg. What did I usually do at home, anyway? Oh yeah, homework. Great.

I thought about what I used to do at home back in Florida and my eyes automatically wandered over to my violin case. I smiled. It had been too long. I laid my case on my bed and opened it slowly. I ran my hand over the shiny, mahogany wood of my violin. I had been playing this violin since the 6th grade and it still looked good as new. I had rarely ever played at home since I had moved, only to play the music in orchestra, which I found easy enough. I ran over to my desk and picked out some of the music I had been learning back when I used to take lessons. I placed it on a stand in the corner and then went over and lifted my violin and bow gently out of its case. I placed it under my chin and ran my bow over a string, playing a single long note. I closed my eyes reveling in the beauty of the violin. It had been a while since I had actually listened to its sound. I flipped through my music and found Preludia, Partitia number three by Bach. I turned through the piece, letting myself remember the fast paced song. It had been one of my favorites last year. Training my eyes on the first page, I began to play. I loved the feel of my fingers pressing into the strings and the way the bow seemed to be an extension of my hand. I felt like my soul was flying. Why had I waited so long to do this? It felt almost as good as being around Jacob. I played the last note feeling utterly fulfilled.

I played through the rest of my music, almost in a trance, until I heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. I swiveled around, hiding my violin behind my back guiltily. "Oh, it's just you, Dad." He stood at the door, smiling widely.

"I miss hearing that sound in the house," he said, looking reminiscent. "By the way, it's 6:00, so I'm guessing that you should start getting ready?"

My eyes widened in shock. I didn't plan to play for _that_ long. "Are you fu…fricking kidding me?" Dad raised one eyebrow, but I couldn't care less. I dared a peeked at the clock to see if it was true. "Crap. Crap. Crap!" I rushed into the bathroom and grabbed the edge the counter to stop myself from falling. I groaned at my reflection in the mirror and grabbed my old wooden brush, yanking through the twisted knots and frizz that were embedded into my black hair. I didn't think I looked pretty, despite what Jake said, so I swept on blush, mascara, and lip gloss to make myself feel better. Since I was rushing, I forgot to put on my outfit first, or even choose what I was going to wear. I thrust open my closet doors and ruffled through my clothes, neatly hanging on hangers. "No…No…No…" I said under my breath. Finally, I settled on a simple black dress that reached my knees. I'd worn it to my father's company dinner I'd been forced to go to last year. I slid the cotton dress over my slender frame and then freed my hair so that it cascaded over my shoulders. I inspected myself in the mirror critically. I pursed my lips. I was acceptable. Just then, I heard the opening and closing of a door. Jacob! I grabbed a large jacket and ran into the foyer, the biggest smile on my face and bumped into…my mom.

"Excuse me?" My mother's voice was strangled.

"Mom?" I winced at the disappointment in my voice.

"Yes, who else were you expecting? And why are you all dressed up?" she demanded.

But before I could respond, the doorbell rang. I hurried past my mother, ignoring the questioning look on her face, and answered the door after taking a few deep breaths. "Jacob!" I cried happily. I flung myself into his arms.

He chuckled. "Hey Jamie," he murmured into my hair. I was engulfed in his warmth. I sighed happily. "I missed you."

I laughed. "Sadly, I did too."

"Jamie?" My mom's shrill voice pierced my eardrums. "Who is this boy?" I jumped away from Jacob. I had forgotten that she was there.

"Oh yeah… Mom this is Jacob Black, my, er, boyfriend." My mother's shocked face quickly turned rather sly.

"Oh really?" she asked, her eyes taking in Jacob's large form.

Jacob stuck out his hand politely. "Hello, Mrs. Strickland."

"Call me Amy." Hesitantly, my mother placed her hand in his. Immediately, my mother's hand jerked back. "Are you feeling okay dear? You seem feverish."

Jacob shifted uncomfortably. "No, I'm fine. I've always been like that…Genes." My dad appeared behind my mom. He cleared his throat loudly.

"So this must be Jacob," he said.

Jacob approached him and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you, sir." My Dad nodded in response.

"So, where will you be going tonight?" He asked.

I tried to listen eagerly as Jacob whispered something unintelligible into my Dad's ear. Damn it. I officially hated surprises.

"Well that sounds good," Dad replied, grinning. I decided that this was enough conversation for tonight.

"Alright Jake," I interrupted. "Let's go to…wherever we're going. Bye Mom, bye Dad."

"Be back before 10:30," my mother warned.

"You watch out for her son, you hear?" Dad called on our way out.

"Don't worry, sir, I will. I swear I will." Jacob sounded more sincere than he needed to. Even my father seemed to believe his promise as I looked back at his face. We headed towards his Rabbit.

"And Jamie we just wanted to let you know that whatever you choose to do, we respect your decisions and we love you," my mom called. I froze. "And use protection!" I covered my face with my hands. This was mortifying. Absolutely mortifying. I would never be able to look into Jacob's face ever again.

Jacob stifled a laugh. "Aw mom," I groaned. I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me. I turned away from Jacob, my face redder than a tomato.

"Bye honey," my dad said, shutting the door.

"Oh my God," I said, "I wish you _could_ die from embarrassment. Then I wouldn't be here right now." Jacob merely laughed. "S'not funny. That was terrible. I'm _so_ sorry that they said that."

"It's fine Jamie," he said, "Your parents are just doing their jobs." He turned to face me before opening the car door. "You look absolutely amazing," he told me, and tenderly kissed my cheek. I blushed, forgetting about the incident with my parents, and slid into the passenger's seat.

"Will you tell me where we're going now?"

"Nope." He grinned.

"Please?"

He glanced at me, amused. "You'll find out soon enough."

I crossed my arms. "Fine," I huffed. A silence passed before I finally spoke up. "You're going to tell me the secret tonight, right?"

Jacob stiffened and kept his eyes on the road. "Yes," he replied impassively.

"It's about time," I said jokingly, trying to lighten the suddenly cold atmosphere. It didn't work. It was quiet the rest of the way to…well I wasn't really sure yet.

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I gazed at the star-dotted sky. It was a beautiful night; uncharacteristically clear for La Push. Clear enough to see the Milky Way. Somewhere below me I could hear the crashing of waves hitting First Beach. Jacob had taken me to a cliff. Everything and everyone were below us. There was only Jacob and I, lying on a quilt, holding hands, and thinking. Serenity.

It was already around nine; Jacob had fixed a meal for us to eat (he ate three quarters of it himself, of course,) and we had joked and laughed, not really serious. Now, I felt as if this were the most serious thing in the world, a time for words with meaning, significance.

Still looking up at the stars I said, "I missed this, you know? The stars, I mean. I guess right before I left, you couldn't see the stars like this because of all the light pollution, but you could still see them almost every night. Here you only see them once a year." I turned on my side to face Jacob. I was surprised to find that he had been on his side the whole time, watching me instead of the stars. His eyes were unfathomable, nostalgic, like he was to be thinking of something from the past. I wondered if he was going to tell me the secret.

Finally, he opened his mouth to speak. I tensed, not exactly sure what he was going to say. "My friend almost died jumping off these cliffs."

I was startled by the bluntness in his tone. "That's terrible."

"She would have died if it hadn't been for me." _She?_ Jealousy bloomed inside of me, slightly burning my insides. I looked away from Jacob's face quickly.

"Oh, that's good." Honestly, I didn't care why the hell she jumped, or the fact that she almost died. Who was this girl? How did she relate to Jacob? "Jake?" I asked hesitantly, "Did you like this girl?"

Jacob snorted. "I thought I loved her. I thought she was everything." Resentment almost choked me.

"What happened? Why didn't you stay together?" I managed to force out. I couldn't believe how hateful I felt towards this girl without even knowing her. I had been in relationships before; I couldn't be mad at Jacob for doing the same.

"Bella and I were never in a relationship," his voice was calm. It surprised me. You would think that he would sound bitter. "She loved someone else before me. Edward Cullen. And when he left her without warning she was a mess. Couldn't even eat at first. Eventually, though, she came to visit me. I was overjoyed. I dedicated myself to fixing her, helping her forget about him. And it was working. I made her happy. We were best friends. I wanted more, of course, and she knew it." Scratch hating Bella. I _loathed _her. "Still, that didn't stop her from flying over to…California to go help Edward when he needed it. And just like that they were back together."

"Wait," I interrupted him, "She ditched you for Edward even after he left her like that...and she just took him back with open arms? How did he accomplish that?"

Jacob smiled at me and grabbed my hand. I almost pulled away. "He didn't have to do anything. She just took him back."

"What a bitch. How could you have liked her?" I asked, irritated. Jacob ignored my question, smiling.

"I was so…angry. I was hard to be around. All my friends couldn't understand why I couldn't get over her. Frankly, now I can't even understand why I couldn't. And then she started to visit me again. Of course I encouraged it, even though it would only make it worse for me in the end. I was convinced she loved me. I was right. One day, to stop me from doing something she thought was dangerous, she asked me to kiss her. So, naturally, I did." Involuntarily, my nails dug into Jacob's skin. He smiled apologetically at me but continued. "She found out that she loved me, but she still loved Edward more. That same day I found out that they were getting married and the next week I received a wedding invitation. I couldn't believe it. I ran far, far away. I went everywhere, trying to escape Bella. I wasted two whole years of my life. I was so stupid." Out of the blue, Mark's face popped in my head. Suddenly Jacob's story of hanging onto a lost cause didn't sound so out of the ordinary. Hadn't I done the same thing with Alex? Didn't I run away from having a real life after Mark?

"Oh Jacob," I said softly and reached out my other hand to caress his face.

He grinned at me. "It doesn't bother me anymore, I mean, I sometimes still miss her. But only as a friend. You know why?"

I frowned. "No."

"Because two months after I had returned from my vacation, I saw you, and suddenly Bella didn't matter anymore."

"Really?"

"Really," he said firmly. I don't think any girl had ever been more relieved than me in that moment, or happier for that matter. Jacob had gotten over that Bella idiot and liked me more than her. I felt like dancing with joy. Jacob wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to him, meeting my lips with his. Somehow my hands were in his black, silky hair. I was filled with warmth. We kissed passionately, but kept it PG. I couldn't help but think that it couldn't get better than this. I pulled away, though, when I had to stifle a moan. I buried my head in his chest and exhaled wistfully, wishing that it would be okay to get carried away. Jacob let out a gust of air, obviously thinking the same thing. I turned over so that my back was pressed again Jacob's chest. His lips were in my hair and his warm russet arms were holding me close to his body. I felt like we were at the beach again, soul searching. It was heaven.

"Jamie?" Jacob murmured.

"Hmmm?" I sighed happily.

"I love you," he whispered.

I stiffened. My mind was reeling with the weight of his words; half of me was swooning, the other half screaming, "How could this happen so quickly?!"

Since my brain had descended into turmoil, my heart answered automatically. "I…I love you, too," I breathed. I went almost numb with shock at my words.

"Say it again." Jacob's voice was overcome emotion.

"I love you." A grin broke out on my face. I was…in love. I turned so I could face him again. "I love you, Jacob Black." wanted to say it a thousand times more. I wanted to stand up and look out to sea, screaming it for the whole world to hear. I faced Jacob. He seemed dazed at first, but after catching my eyes his expression turned triumphant. And then we were kissing, kissing like we had never kissed before. I was swept away by his heat. And this time we got a little carried away…well maybe a lot carried away. But I didn't give a damn because Jacob Black loved me and I loved him back. When we finally broke apart, Jacob was hovering over me, supporting himself on his elbows to keep himself from crushing me. I couldn't seem to find enough air. Jacob rolled back onto his back breathing heavily. And then I was staring up at the Milky Way again, thinking.

"Do you want to hear my secret now?" Jacob spoke up.

"Sure. Why not?" I responded cheerfully.

Jacob laughed. "I can't believe how—." Abruptly, Jacob stopped talking. And somehow he was standing. His nose was crinkled in disgust like he smelled something bad. "Oh shit. Shit. Shit. Shit!"

"What?" I sat up, looking around worriedly.

"Why did this have to happen now?" Jacob hissed, shaking all over.

"Jacob what is it?"

"Jamie, I want you to go to Sam's house."

"What? But Jacob…"

"Now!" He was furious, almost demented in his anger. "GO!" I stood up, tottering slightly, tears pouring down my face. No way was this happening. Not again. Pretending to stumble down the path obediently, I slipped behind a tree, out of Jake's sight. I peeked out from my hiding place. He was staring desperately where I had just left. He dropped his face into his hands.

"Jamie," he moaned lowly. The grief in his voice caused shivers to run down my spine. Maybe I should have left. I began to turn around to leave when there was a strong gust of wind over the cliff, whipping my hair around me. The blast of air seemed to have brought Jacob to focus. He threw off his shoes and began to tremble so violently that he was a blur. Suddenly, brownish red fur burst out of Jacob's figure, forming a shape many times larger than Jacob's original size. My body became limp and I fell to the ground, not able to make a noise. There in Jacob's place was a massive russet wolf.

Holy. Fucking. Shit_._

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**So what do you think'll happen next? Any guesses?**

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	18. Chapter 17: Irony

**Disclaimer: Twilight is not ours!!!**

**Um yeah, still don't feel like writing in conversations. Anyway, happy 2009!!! So we have a question, do you think we need a beta reader or are we pretty good with our grammar and sentence structure? We would also like to thank all of our spectacular reviewers, iRedeem, Only4Miken, Jacob Did Not Imprint, MintCcIceCream, Mayacompany, and Baby-emo. You guys are amazing! So enjoy. :)**

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Jamie's Point of View

Without looking back the Jacob/Wolf tore into the forest, going so fast it looked like merely a smear in the background. And then, just like the Jacob/Wolf, I was running, running without knowing where I was going. Jacob. Jacob. Jacob. Jacob. He had… He was…he was a…a werewolf! I didn't question it for a second; I knew what I saw. I began to bawl uncontrollably. I was terrified. My Jacob was a monster. Oh God. My sobs grew louder. Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. What was I going to do? Where should I go?

Finally, I reached a street. I ran beside it, not really sure why. Ahead of me I saw a brightly lit house. I sprinted towards it with all my might. I needed someone to take me home. Closer inspection showed me it was Sam and Emily's house. Even better. Not bothering to knock, I burst inside, still crying. In Sam and Emily's family room sat Collin, Brady, Kim, Nadia, and Emily. They looked up at my pathetic self, worried.

"What happened?" Emily's voice was sharp with anxiety.

"Oh God Emily," I swallowed, "Jacob he's a…he's a…" I stopped myself. They'd think I was crazy if I told them Jacob turned into some freaky wolf.

"Ah," Emily relaxed, "He told you."

"What?" My eyes narrowed. "Jacob didn't tell me anything!"

"Oh…"

Something slammed into me like a speeding car. "Oh God," I moaned, covering my mouth. "You know."

Brady approached me, hands held up in peace, and placed his hand on my shoulder. At his feverish touch, something in me clicked. He was one of them. Collin too. That's why they all looked alike, that's why they all were warm, that's why they all shook whenever they were upset! They were all wolves! They were all a…a pack. The room swirled around me dizzyingly. I jerked away from his hand. "Jamie I think you need to calm down." Brady kept his voice level, serene. But he was grimacing.

I backed away, trying to reach the door. "Stay away!" I warned. "You stay away from me you…you monster!" I cursed myself silently. How could I have been so stupid?! Going right into the den of them! I should have realized…I mean, I knew they knew…ugh, I am such an idiot!

Collin stood up abruptly. "I think I'll go get Jacob now. I'm pretty sure this is more important than a few stray bloodsuckers at the moment." Emily nodded and he left through the back door.

My heart stuttered at the promise of Jake's arrival. Jacob would make everything better…But then I remembered. Jacob wasn't who I thought he was. He couldn't fix the problem. He was the problem. Instantly I was furious. How dare he tell me he loved me when he wasn't even human!? How dare he even act like he even cared!? How dare he make me love him?

"Come sit down Jamie," half of Emily's face smiled. Half of her face. I gasped.

"They…they did that to you, didn't they?" Emily seemed reluctant to respond to my question. "Oh my God." They hurt people. Jacob had been right about his secret frightening me off. He was always right. "How can you…?" I spluttered, "How can you live with them? Look what they did to you! Look!" Emily dropped her head in her hands, tears leaking out of her eyes. I glanced nervously at Brady who was starting to move towards me again. "I can't stay here!" I twisted around and grabbed the door knob.

"C'mon James," Kim pleaded from her spot on the couch. "You don't understand."

I glowered at her over my shoulder. "Don't call me that!" I snapped. "And I understand enough!" I turned the door knob.

"Jamie!" I stopped at the sound of the newly arrived voice. I sucked in a sharp breath. He sounded agonized. And it was all my fault. Why did Jacob have to come? It made everything harder. Unwillingly, I faced him.

A strangled sort of whimper left my throat at his miserable face. Pull yourself together Jamie! He transforms into a freaking wolf! He slashes people open! Think of Emily! I wiped my face of all emotion. "Jacob," I said coldly, "What?" He moved towards me.

"It's not what it seems," he said hoarsely, still advancing.

I sneered. "So you don't explode into a huge wolf?"

He looked ashamed. "Well…yes, I do. But I'm good. If you would just let me explain—."

"And one of you didn't rip open Emily's face?!"

"Jamie…"

"And you go to my school?! Knowing that any second you could tear someone's head off!" Emily was weeping.

"I-I'm sorry," Jacob whispered.

"It's a little too late for that, Jake," I gestured to Emily's inconsolable form, my chest heaving. Jacob's eyes traveled over me, almost capturing my own. I looked away before that could happen.

"It wasn't on purpose Jamie…Believe me."

"Oh, so you can't help it? Even better!"

Guiltily, he moved his gaze to Emily for a second, then back to me. "I wouldn't do that to you Jamie. I wouldn't get out of control like that."

"How do you know for sure? How do you know you won't get out of control Jake?"

"I wouldn't!" he insisted stubbornly.

"That's not an answer, Jake!"

Jacob's face grew frustrated. "I just know, okay?! Trust me on this!" he yelled, the words exploding from his mouth.

"You just knowing isn't good enough, Jake!!! It never will be!!!" I screamed right back at him. Jacob's face hardened and he began to tremble.

"Well what would be good enough for you then Jamie?! 'Cause I sure as hell don't know!" He spat.

"Nothing. There's nothing you can do," I hissed, angry tears rolling down my face. "I won't stand around waiting for that—," I pointed towards Emily's face, "—to happen to me!" I took a deep breath, emptying my head of all thoughts. "This isn't going to work out for us Jake," I said without emotion.

Jacob's anger dissolved, replaced with immeasurable sorrow. "Don't say that Jamie," he said desperately, "It has to work out. It always does. Always! We're supposed to…We're supposed to…"

"No," I said firmly, "We're not."

He reached a quivering hand towards me. "Please Jamie. Please don't do this."

I recalled how he had shaken before he had become a wolf earlier and slapped his hand away. "Don't. Touch. Me." My tone was deadly. "We're over Jake. I don't ever want to see you again."

Jacob was shuddering violently, glistening tears rolling down his face. A bunch of the other boys…monsters burst through the door. I shrank back in fear.

"Oh shit," Embry said, alarmed. "He's about to lose it. Someone grab him!" At that I knew I had to get out of there.

"Move out of the way!" Sam ordered the girls.

"Bye Jacob. Have a great life," I managed to keep my voice free of the terror that was consuming me. I opened the door swiftly and slammed the door shut behind me. Loud. And just like that I had done the impossible. I had left.

I ran. A heartbreaking howl broke the silence of night, causing unimaginable pain to pierce my heart. I knew it was Jacob. Tears clawed their way up my throat. It was ironic, really, how I was so afraid that Jacob would leave me. It was undoubtedly my worst nightmare. Therefore, I never had even considered leaving him myself. And yet there I was….leaving. Yes, I guess you could call it ironic. Unspeakably so. I choked out a sob and collapsed by an intersection of roads. I couldn't find the will to do anything but cry. Several times people tried to call me but I didn't want to hear their frantic voices, fretting about nothing important to me. "Don't you get it?!" I wanted to scream at them, "Don't you understand!? My heart is broken! My heart is destroyed!!!" Because all I could feel was betrayal. Betrayal of the highest degree. Because Jacob had made me believe he could keep me safe when he couldn't. He had led me into a relationship that I couldn't possibly partake in. He had acted human! And mostly, he had caused this pain inside me. This excruciating, inescapable pain.

Finally, I pulled myself together. Who said Jacob was the be all, end all? Who said he could have this power over me? I didn't need him. I was perfectly fine without him. My heart panged, knowing that that was not at all true. I had been miserable before Jacob. And now after having him, knowing him…I pushed these thoughts away angrily. I would be fine. Fine. My phone buzzed in my pocket for the umpteenth time and for the first time I answered.

"Hello?" I answered with forced cheerfulness.

"Jamie? That you?" Alex.

"Uh huh."

"Oh thank God. Everyone is so worried Jamie. What the hell did you think you were doing, not answering the phone? Your parents were about to call the police!"

"Well, I'm fine, okay?"

"No! It's not okay! Why didn't you answer the damn phone?"

"It's...it's nothing, Alex."

"Did Jacob do something to you? Cause I swear to God Jamie if he did—"

"No he didn't do anything, Alex." I felt my perfectly happy pretense drop. A tear trickled down my cheek. "Jacob just wasn't who I thought he was." Emotion made my voice rough.

A long silence on the other end. "Where are you?"

I glanced up at the street signs. "Corner of Willow and Smith."

"I'm coming." The line went dead.

I closed my phone and waited, forcing myself not to cry. I didn't need him…I didn't.

Alex's Pontiac pulled up beside me and I climbed in. Alex barely looked at me. "Did you two break up?"

"Yes," I said gruffly.

Alex frowned. "Why'd you do it Jamie? He was good for you."

"Who said I did it?"I asked defensively.

He banged his hand against the steering wheel. "God damn it Jamie! He made you happy and you made him happy! I really can't believe you!"

"You don't know how it is, Alex." I pictured a pack of giant wolves running, their teeth bared, and shivered.

"He loves you. You love him. There's nothing else to know, Jamie!" Alex said, his voice rising in anger.

"Don't lecture me on love Alex! I know about love. I know how it breaks you."

"Fuck that."

"Why are you pissed at me about this?" I yelled.

"I really can't believe you just asked me that. Jacob's been nothing but good to you, Jamie, even though most of the time you treated him like dirt! Did you stop to think how much pain you've caused him? And you're not only hurting him, you know…you're sacrificing your own happiness in the process!"

I flinched. "You think it was easy for me?"

"No. I know it was the most painful thing you ever had to do! And that just makes it worse!"

"I had to do it. He hurt me."

"You don't look too upset," Alex accused, pulling into my driveway.

"Fine, think whatever you want about it. Thanks for being such a supportive friend," I said coldly and got out, slamming the door behind me.

When I entered my house I was smothered by my parents.

"Oh Jamie, you're okay," my mom breathed.

"What happened?" my dad questioned.

"Nothing, alright? Just shut up and leave me alone!" I stormed upstairs, not bothering to see their reactions. I opened the door to my bedroom and slammed it forcefully.

I sat on my bed, staring at the wall. My eyes suddenly caught sight of my violin. Could it only have been hours ago that I was happily playing it? I felt my face mangle into something horrible. Not fully aware of myself, I slowly pushed myself up and stepped towards the violin. I picked it up, holding it in my hands, not wanting to remember. But the memories of us together flashed and replayed over and over again in my mind: the butterflies in my stomach when we got close...his big, trusting smile that made me feel so safe and warm...the heat and electricity of our passionate, fiery kiss. How could I have let it get that far...to give away my heart, my soul, to a...a....

I squeezed my eyes shut, my face burning, not wanting to complete the last sentence. I stomped to my open window, the wind whipping my dark hair wildly around my face. Violin in hand, I lifted it up and smashed it on the windowsill. Stupid violin! A horrifying, screeching sound beat against my ears. I hit it again, harder this time, the rage piling up inside me. Stupid Jacob! A different, more depressing whine came out as the strings were marred and destroyed. I shrieked and banged it three more times, the shards of wood propelling downwards until they reached the grass. Stupid ME!!! I pulled the rest apart with my bare hands and dumped it out the window. I stood there, heaving, reaching over to the only thing that remained: the bow. I tore it in two and tossed it, watching somberly as the last broken pieces of my former life fell to the ground. I curled up into a corner and sobbed until fatigue took over my body. Cloudiness shrouded my brain, and I left behind the worst day of my life.

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**Question: Werewolf point of view for next chapter? Yes or no? **

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	19. Chapter 18: Remembering

**Disclaimer: Still, we do not own Twilight. **

**Hello fellow readers. As always, we want to thank our lovely reviewers, Jacob Did Not Imprint, Only4Miken, calixx (we put in some Jamie's Point of View for you), Mayacompany, iRedeem, MintCcIcecream, FluffyOtters, Kaira5, and, last but not least, therewasbeauty. Wow. You guys are beyond amazing. Please accept this chapter as a gift for being such awesome readers. **

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**Leah: Third Person**

Leah regarded the scene before her with boredom and perhaps a slight bit of irritation. _Jamie is such a bitch_, she thought as she watched Jamie scream and yell without even _trying_ to listen to Jacob. Didn't she realize what she was doing to Jacob? And if she didn't care about him, what about the rest of the pack? Leah stifled a groan at this thought. Jacob's mind would be hell while Jamie was gone. A tidal wave of pain. And with Claire gone…She felt a surge of hatred toward Jamie. Now she'd have to avoid running patrol with three of the werewolves. Leah grimaced. It was probably the first time she was ever grateful for the fact that imprints couldn't resist the imprint. Her eyes automatically flicked to Emily and jealousy and anger tore at her. She shouldn't blame Emily, she knew, it was Sam's fault she was so unhappy, but her mind had trouble wrapping itself around the concept…she couldn't even be around her former best friend anymore.

Leah's eyes were pulled away by the slam of Emily's door. _Great…_ The only sound now was the door, vibrating against its frame. Everyone in the room was frozen, watching Jacob. After an immeasurable moment, Jacob punched the door, leaving a dent. Then again and again. He couldn't stop. And nobody else tried to end his movements either, although the door was becoming splintered and bloody. Eventually he collapsed against the ruined door, his forehead and open palms resting on the wood. Leah heard a muffled sob and watched his shoulders shake with it. Jacob was crying? Leah didn't think she had ever seen Jacob cry, not even with Bella. The pack watched with horror, obviously thinking the same thing. Hesitantly, Embry approached Jacob and placed his hand on Jacob's shoulder. Leah wasn't exactly sure if this was the best move. She sure as hell didn't want to be touched after Sam had left her…even after three years this was still the case.

She was right.

Jacob swiveled around, pulling away from the comforting gesture. "Get away," he snarled like some wild animal. His eyes were mad with grief and the blood on the door had streaked his face red. Leah wouldn't have blamed Jamie for calling this Jacob a monster, although Jamie herself had created him. The air in the room seemed to condense, making the room seem too small. Leah felt claustrophobia threaten somewhere in the background of her mind. He was a breath away from phasing now, judging by his blurred figure. Leah stumbled backwards. Jacob was the largest wolf now, a force to be reckoned with, and if he lost control in here… it would be bad. Very bad.

Sam must have been thinking along the same lines because he made a move to restrain Jacob. "C'mon Jake."

Jacob wouldn't have it. "I said get away!!!" he roared as the others joined Sam. He struggled against them, punching and kicking and biting. Leah considered sneaking out the back, as this was not something she wanted to get involved with. She knew how Jacob was feeling, she had felt it herself. With Sam. With her dad. So, therefore, she knew Jacob would have no problem, in his state, tearing apart one of his friends. But Sam would be mad at her if she left. And as much as she hated to admit it, Sam had control over her. He could make her run patrol with Jacob or Quil. Or worse, he could make her run patrol with him himself. Although, he probably wouldn't punish her with the latter. Leah had made a habit of recalling memories of them together when he was in her head. It was almost as painful for Sam as it was for her, which made it even worse for him in the end. However, the possibility of the punishment was there, so Leah stayed.

They were trying to get him out the back door, where the neighbors couldn't possibly see him explode into a huge, hairy werewolf. Jacob was, of course, yelling and fighting, threatening to phase. "Jacob please," Sam finally begged, looking over at Emily, anxiously, "Please stop."

And, after a long moment, Jacob did. Leah thought it was the way Sam gazed at Emily that did it. Jacob swayed back and forth, the pack eyeing him warily. "She's gone," he moaned. "Gone." His eyes strayed to Sam, Paul, and Jared fleetingly, enviously,—Leah was extremely surprised that he hadn't phased yet—his shaking was so bad—and then he was out the door, followed by the rest of the boys.

Leah heard the familiar rip of exploding clothes and raised her eyebrows. "Well now," she drawled, "That was rather dramatic, wasn't it?"

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**Jamie's Point of View**

When I awoke the next morning there was a terrible taste in my mouth. My teeth hurt, my head hurt, my stomach hurt, but mostly my heart hurt. With every thump of my heart came pain. It was a cold kind of pain, the kind of pain you feel when you're holding ice right before your fingers go numb, only a thousand times worse. It felt like dying. And the weather wasn't helping. It was freezing. I huddled under my blanket, desperate for warmth. It didn't work. It wasn't even close to this cold on the cliffs…Last nights events flashed through my mind. No! No, ridiculous. I must have dreamed it. That's why I felt so bad. Nightmares always made me feel crappy. There was no such thing as mythical beasts—werewolves that prowled through the night. And…and even if there was such a thing, Jacob? Jacob wasn't a monster. He couldn't be. So, therefore, he had done nothing wrong. He wasn't a danger to the people around him and he had definitely not betrayed me. I could go right now to his house and he would hold me in strong, warm arms and comfort me, and I wouldn't be so cold anymore, and nothing would ache, and everything would be right. But for some reason I couldn't get the crazy imaginings out of my head, no matter how many logical arguments I threw at them. So I decided to prove them wrong once and for all, I would go to Jacob's house. I pushed off the covers, they hadn't been helping anyway, and jumped out of bed. I would just take my mom's keys and drive over there. I marched towards the door, grabbing the keys on the way, and opened the door into the light of the dawn. However, I made a fatal mistake…I left through the front door. If I had left through the garage door, I would have not stepped on the old t-shirt, never had read the note, and would have met Jacob while I was in a much calmer mood. But as it so happened, I did. The shirt was the one that I had lent Jacob when he had been walking around bare-chested. It was folded neatly, more neatly than I'd ever been able to do it. I wondered, vaguely, if Jacob had managed to do it himself. There was a white envelope taped to the top. _To Jamie_, was scrawled across the front. My stomach sunk, while my heart throbbed faster. Trembling, I picked up the note and shirt and took them inside, thoughts of visiting La Push forgotten. I sat down on the couch mechanically and unstuck the note, placing the shirt to my side. It took me a few times but I finally got my unwilling hands to un-tuck the envelope flap. I felt the cold creep around me menacingly. Taking slow breaths I opened the note and began to read.

_Dear Jamie,_

_Jacob here. Here's your shirt. (Emily folded it for me, in case you were wondering. Probably not.) Thanks for letting me borrow it. Shirts are kind of inconvenient for us. _

I closed my eyes, remembering how tatters of his clothes had floated down beside the wolf. It hadn't been my imagination. It was real. The paper began to flutter in my hand. Jacob was a wolf. I read on.

_I won't bother you again._

_Love,_

_Jake_

_P.S. Sorry. _

I read the last line of the letter again, not comprehending. _I won't bother you again._ This was it. No more warmth and laughter. Just a never ending winter. A life without Jacob. Cold fingers tore open my chest, and left it to fester. Had I said the pain in my heart felt like dying earlier? I was wrong. This. This was dying. My hand unwillingly tightened around the paper, crumpling it. I stared at it for a second, hating it. Loathing it. With a strangled sob, I threw it across the room where it hit the wall and fell behind the TV. Out of sight. Out of mind.

Something ugly and vile coiled and twisted in my stomach, making me feel sick. I ran to the bathroom, leaned over the toilet, and retched until I was heaving up nothing. Jacob. Jacob. Jacob. I moaned and then made my way back to my bedroom, falling back onto my bed.

"Jamie?" My mother materialized in the doorway. At my appearance she gasped. "What's wrong?"

I looked at her, holding back tears. "Nothing," I said, my voice coarse.

"Oh, Jamie." She came and sat down beside me, stroking my hair.

"Please. Leave me alone."

"Was it that Jacob kid?"

I burst into sobs at this. That Jacob kid. She made him sound so insignificant, like some desperate teen's first crush.

"What happened?" she asked. "Did he break up with you?"

"No," I bawled, "I broke up with him."

"Why? He seemed like a nice enough kid." I couldn't answer that. I stared up at her miserably. She seemed to understand. "Well," she rested her hand on my forehead, "I'm sure you'll find the right person in no time. But in the meantime we can watch a good movie and have some chocolate ice cream, huh?"

I laughed. No, I went into hysterics. Like ice cream and a movie would solve all my problems. Right. Thankfully, my mom took this as her cue to leave. A few minutes later tears overtook my stupid giggling. This wasn't time for happiness. I cried and I cried and I cried, all the while my body complaining about the cold. Eventually though, I couldn't feel anything, my crying and shivering had stopped. The cold had numbed me, like cold always does, leaving me empty, lifeless. I lay in my room for hours, staring at the ceiling and trying not to think. Every once in a while one of my parents would knock on my door, begging me to come out and eat something. I didn't want to face them. Something about that bothered me. I was hiding away from the world, letting Jacob take over my life. My mind began to follow the same angry track that it had the night before, except this time my feelings were real. I couldn't let this mistake in my life bog me down. Life went on. Jacob had proved that to me. Soon, Jacob would be just like Mark, a blemish in my memories.

To enforce that, I thought of his every flaw. Firstly, he kept secrets. Huge, life-changing secrets. Which, in turn, meant that he was a liar. He was also nosy, I recalled the time he had barged into my house and looked through my things. He over-reacted to pretty much everything And, of course, there was the whole terrifying, out-of-control wolf thing. Then I thought about the letter, getting furious at Jacob for trying to "act" like the good guy. I won't bother you again, my ass. He'd be here any day now, begging for me to come back, and I would push him away with my nose in the air and a smile gracing my lips. Sorry Jacob Black, I don't date monsters.

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	20. Chapter 19: Visitor

**Disclaimer: We do not own...you guessed it! Twilight!**

**Soooo this chapter is super, super short. It's kind of a lead up to the next chapter. Yeah. Sorry. Anyway, let us thank all reviewers. Mayacompany, Fluffy Otters, calixx, iRedeem, 13wolfgirl13, Only4Miken, and MintCcIceCream we applaud you. **

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**Jamie's Point of View**

He didn't come. Not the next day or the day after that. Two weeks and I still hadn't seen anything to prove that he had been lying in his letter. And with Alex mad at me, the only two people I could really talk to were gone. It didn't take long before my angry demeanor faded and I was sucked back into the cold, cold emptiness. It was all I could do but lay in bed all day and cry.

My parents didn't take my depression well at all. Especially since my dad was in such a good mood. (He was all excited over the fact that some of his friends from Florida were moving here.) They often hovered in my doorway begging me to go outside and do something. I politely refused, they were lucky that they could get me to eat. As it was, I barely slept anymore, because when I did I was plagued by nightmares of terrible wolves, bloody limbs, and of standing alone in impenetrable darkness. Awake, I would wonder if staying away from Jacob, from danger, was worth this. But then I would remember the russet wolf and Emily's marred face and decide yes, yes it was. I was scared. Moreover, going to Jacob now, although it was ridiculous, would be a hit on my pride. So I let another week slip by.

It was a bad day. (Which was saying something.) I had just had a particularly frightening nightmare, in which anything that I touched disappeared or tried to kill me, the night before and, on top of that, my parents were threatening to call Alex over. "He always helps Jamie through all her problems," my mom had said. This only reminded me that he hadn't been there. He hadn't supported me.

So I had been lying there, getting angry at Alex, when the doorbell rang. I was confused, my parents weren't home, and nobody would want to see me except for…

I froze.

Jacob.

Oh God. What the fuck was I going to do? _Take him back_. After a moment of shock, I smashed the traitorous thought against my skull. No. No dangerous, betraying creatures for me. But the thought was like a Hydra. Every time I destroyed one thought, two more would pop up and the only way to strike them at the heart would be to listen to them. They were my heart. So I did the next best thing. Ignored them. I went to go get the door, praying that things would just flow. When I reached the door I stopped. Maybe I should just pretend that I wasn't there. But what if he knew I was home? Would he get really angry and upset and burst? I put my hand on the door knob. The door bell rang again. I took a deep breath. And opened the door.

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**_!!!!!You might think it's worth it to read the author's note today! :D!!!!!!_**

**So who is it? Jacob? (Now, really would we be so obvious?...or easy?) So we're going to play a little game. If you want to, place a girl name in your review that you like or whatever. Ex. Kristina, Tara, or Sarah. We're going to use these names sometime in the story. Anyone who guesses who's at the door will definitely get their name of choice used. If none of you do (it's kind of hard if you ask us, there's only a few clues) we'll pick out names from the ones you have provided us. if you have any questions PM us. You'll have till, not this Sunday, but next Sunday. **

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	21. Chapter 20: Surprise!

**Disclaimer: Twilight is still not ours. Now that certainly is a shocker, isn't it? **

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**Jamie's Point of View**

"SURPRISE!"

Shit.

There in front of me were my four ex-best friends from Florida, Natalie, Olivia, Heather, and Meaghan. And, standing in the middle like he owned the world, was Mark. I was positive some cruel God of Fate was in the skies, laughing. Let's make Jamie's miserable existence even worse. That would be fun. Tiny black and white dots swarmed in front of my vision. My knees buckled. I heard some gasps of worry from my friends. Yeah right.

Mark caught my elbow. "Whoa there, don't want to fall now, do we?" he said, his smile almost passable for a smirk. I couldn't help but compare his cool attitude to Jacob's friendly, easy-going nature. They were so far apart they were barely comparable.

"What are _you_ doing here?" I spat at them. Mark's blue eyes flashed with cold understanding. Olivia, Heather, and Meaghan seemed dismayed, as if they actually thought that I _wanted_ to see them, while Natalie looked away, she always did that when she knew she did something wrong.

"Parent's work," Natalie said tersely. She was definitely the most tolerable of the four (besides the fact that she was real), as she had only known about Mark's other girlfriend for a few days before I had found out and had been planning on telling me later that day. The only problem was, was that the only reason she had held out as long as she did was because she wanted someone else to tell me, as to not piss off Mark. Pretty much everyone wanted to be in Mark's good books, even if they were a year older than him like Natalie (and Heather), he was one of those people that you had to be friends with or you felt like dying. He charmed like a snake.

"Oh, my dad mentioned something like that," I said. My mind flashed back to the month before when my dad had revealed that people from Florida were moving to Forks because of work. I had met my friends and Mark through Dad's work. Our parents all worked in the same department. One of them moving here was bound to have happened. I should have known. "But that's not exactly what I meant," I continued on in conversational tone, "Let me make things a little clearer to you. What are doing at my house when you _know _you're not welcome here?"

You're still ma—?" Heather was cut off by Mark.

"We're here to apologize Jamie," he said softly, dipping his head like he was ashamed. My eyes narrowed.

"Oh really?" I asked, feigning intrigue.

"We're like, really sorry Jamie," said Olivia.

"When you were mad at us…" Meaghan trailed off like it was too painful to talk about.

Heather said, "Yeah. Like, I can't even believe we even did that to you." She had finally caught on.

I looked over at Natalie, wondering if she would actually apologize. She hated being thought wrong and would go to any lengths to be proven otherwise. She cleared her throat, still gazing off to the right. "I-I'm sorry." She met my eyes. "I should have told you." I knew she meant it. She didn't say anything she didn't mean, it was one of the reasons why I had liked her, you know, besides the fact that she was a popular Junior and I was a lowly Sophomore. I had been so shallow back then. I decided that I should probably forgive them. They _had _apologized. And why did it matter anyway? It's not like I actually cared about whom my friends were anymore. Pain lashed through my heart at the meaning behind this thought.

"Okay," I said wearily, "Sure."

Olivia grinned. "Oh, thank you Jamie! I'm so relieved." At least someone was.

Mark didn't react. He was smart enough to know he wasn't forgiven. He turned to the girls, flashing them a rather seductive smile, "I think I'm going to talk to Jamie alone if that's all right with you." Meaghan giggled and started on her way, followed by Olivia and Heather. Oh no he did not. Natalie hesitated, glancing at me, before leaving me alone. With Mark.

I cleared my throat. "Maybe they don't care that you want to talk to me alone. But _I_ do."

"Jamie," he said with a sigh, "Hear me out."

I waved my hand. "Go ahead," I encouraged dryly. I crossed my arms. "But don't expect me to change my mind, you son of a bitch."

"That sounds reasonable," he said, unperturbed. I grunted incredulously. "I really did come here to apologize Jamie." His eyes bore into mine, leaking truth.

"You know, you should become an actor. You'd make millions," I commented mockingly.

"Jamie. Please." He ran his head through his hair, leaving it sticking up in places. Very innocent. It occurred to me that he might be telling the truth. I batted the perilous notion aside. C'mon Jamie don't fall for his tricks. That's what he _wants_ you to think. I opened my mouth and closed it, unsure. And with that, he knew he had me. Perfect…for him. "I know I made a bad decision last year when I cheated on you...but I've learned from my mistakes. I've changed. Believe me." I closed my eyes letting out a gust of wind.

"But last year…You-you nearly killed me Mark. I loved you. I really thought I loved you. I thought we were going to go off to college together and get married or something. I-I genuinely believed that you thought the same. And then you cheated on me. We were going out for two_ years_! Two freaking _years_ Mark!" I held back tears. "I was devastated. Destroyed."

Mark grabbed my hand and held them between his. How cool his hands were surprised me, I was used to the heat of Jacob's hands. "I _did_ love you Jamie. I _do._" I pulled my hand away in shock.

"Don't say that. Don't say that you love me. I've been hurt too many times to believe in that," I said, my voice thick, "Really Mark, I don't even know if I want to be your _friend_. You don't even know me anymore. I'm different. Darker. Deeper."

He gazed down at me, placing his hands on my shoulder. "But you're still Jamie and that's what matters," his voice was passionate, intense. It was so hard not to believe him. So hard not to let my good memories with Mark consume my bad ones. "Jamie, please be my girlfriend. Please. It'll be like just like before. Perfect." Out of nowhere he pulled out a red rose. I stared at it numbly. My heart was beating jaggedly, painfully. You shouldn't do this Jamie. You can't. But the idea was so attractive. That maybe somehow Mark would fill this hole within me. That maybe he would somehow help me move on. But Jacob. Oh but Jacob. How can I do this when I can barely move without him? When I can barely breathe in his absence?

But Jacob was a monster and Mark…wasn't. At this thought I burst out crying. Mark instantly helped me inside and sat me on the couch. Then he let me lean on him and he stroked my hair. And then I honestly didn't care if he was lying to me or not. I just wanted him to pretend that he loved me. Because even though he wasn't as good-looking as I remembered, and he had cheated on me, and he was manipulative…he was still someone. And someone sounded pretty good to me, who had no one. So after I had stopped crying, I said, with determination, "Yes. Yes I will."

Something in me broke. Some essential segment of my soul shriveled up and died. _How could you?_ said an accusing voice in my head. My tears returned.

The voice had sounded exactly like Jacob's.

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	22. Chapter 21: Encounter

**Disclaimer: Sigh. Twilight is not ours.**

**Hello readers. Gotta love Mark right? Ha ha. Just wanted to thank all of our insightful reviewers. We love you, iRedeem, SarahAnne, Fluffy Otters, luvableKnegi, sweetorbad, MayaCompany, xXMiaInoriXx, pwndheartx, calixx, MintCcIceCream, kt, and kiwifruit101. WE HAVE 99 REVIEWS!!!!!! YAY ONE MORE AND WE HAVE 100!!!!!!!!! **

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Jamie's Point of View

I stared at the ceiling, trying to escape the pain. Mark had not helped to soothe it, if anything it was worse than it was two weeks ago. I felt like a ghost, gliding through a terrible world that only existed in my mind. And to make things even more miserable, this afternoon I was going to First beach with the rest of my…friends, despite the fact that I had told Mark several times that I really did _not_ want to go. He had insisted, letting me know that I was being ridiculous. How could I hate the beach?

Even now, I couldn't believe it. We were going to Jacob's beach. My stomach twisted at the thought. What if he was there? What if he saw me with Mark? Oh, God. We had had our first kiss on that beach. We had professed our love to each other less than a mile away. My heart throbbed.

Stop thinking Jamie.

It's the only escape…

Just…stop…

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The doorbell rang. My hands tightened around the bed covers. No. Please, no. There was a knock. My stomach threatened to dislodge its contents. I really didn't want to do this. _Try. You have to try to move on. _I slid out of bed and staggered out of my room. I imagined this was how it felt to be hung over. Several times over. I grabbed my rain-jacket out of the coat closet. Though it wasn't supposed to rain I thought it was best to be prepared. I opened the door.

"Jamie," Mark smiled at me.

"Mark. Hello."

Mark didn't even notice my bedraggled appearance. I think he had realized something else had happened in his absence and didn't push it. I mean, why would he? He had already made his conquest. Who cares about its state? Really, was I _this_ lonely?

We entered his black sports car and pulled out of the driveway.

"I can't believe you're not more excited about going to the beach."

"I told you. I don't like it there."

"C'mon. You loved the beach back in Florida."

I sighed, looking away from him into the forest. "I'm not that girl anymore Mark. I told you. I'm different, okay? Besides if you think that La Push's beaches are like Florida's you must be incredibly delu…" There was a flash of color between the trees. I leaned forward, searching for another glimpse of… Again. Grey broke the never-ending greenness. It was too high up for any normal animal. I clutched the arm-rests. One of the wolves. My breathing came in shallow, short pants. They were watching me. I wondered how often they did this, without me even realizing it.

"…you even listening to me? Jamie?" Mark placed his hand on mine. A pang of disgust ran through me.

"Huh? Oh…Yeah. I saw something is all. Do you mind putting up the top? The wind's kind of annoying."

Mark looked a little irritated but obliged. While he did so, I sneaked my hand out of his reach.

"Thanks." I smiled weakly. "Now, what were you saying?"

I couldn't believe what they were wearing. I couldn't believe it. "You guys do know that the water is freezing, right?" Bikinis. They had on skimpy, Floridian Bikinis.

"So? It's not like we'll like, actually be going in or anything," said Olivia.

"Yeah. In case the sun comes out," Meaghan piped up. You have _got_ to be kidding me.

"Yeah, like in a million years," I muttered. "Please tell me you brought something to wear over those," I said louder. They looked at me funny. My nails dug into my palm. Idiots. My old friends had actually had common sense. I sucked in a sharp breath at the thought. _Have you forgotten, Jamie that your old friends either hang out with Dracula and/or hate you?_ Tears burnt my throat. _That's what I thought. _

"It can't be _that_ bad, Jamie," Natalie said arrogantly, "I'm sure we can handle it."

Arrogant brat. Not feeling like they were worth the words, I began down the path irritably, stuffing my hands into my jacket pockets. These days it seemed like all I ever felt was angry or mind-numbingly sad. I shook off the thought and pressed forward under the false impression that the faster we got there, the faster we'd get out. Maybe it was a good thing they'd worn only bikinis. Mark caught up to me easily, gracefully, unnervingly, while the other four hung back, content to gossip.

I stopped abruptly at the edge of the forest. What if he was out there right now, laughing, telling stories? Oh, God. Before I could turn back though, Mark grabbed my arm and pulled me out. I resisted the urge to close my eyes.

My worries had been pointless, the beach, I realized with relief, was empty.

The ocean wind was bitterly cold. It didn't bother me much; I was used to the feeling. Desensitized after days of being cold. Others were affected though. I tried not to smirk at Natalie's gritted teeth and the other girl's squeals. Mark offered to warm me up, i.e. put his arm around me. I politely declined. I usually avoided contact with Mark or anyone else, for that matter. All it did was remind me of the warmth I was missing.

"I did some research and there's some tide pools down the beach. Anyone want to go see them?" Mark asked. Every one voiced their assent except me. "Jamie?" I shrugged my shoulders. It was good enough for them. Mark grabbed my limp hand, to my displeasure, and led the way.

We were sitting on a rock looking down at a busy tide pool. The fact that anything could flourish in a shallow pool like this would have amazed me any other day, but today all I could think of was of how cold Mark's hand was. It took all I could not to rip my hand away and shove it in my jacket pocket. To distract myself, I listened in on Natalie's and Heather's conversation. They were leaving for college in Florida in three weeks and were discussing which classes they would be taking, where there dorms were, and so on. So much for a distraction.

Then, in the corner of my eye, I saw Mark leaning towards me, his empty hand about to pull my head around to face him. I realized, with horror, what he was doing. Son of a…

I stood up abruptly, my hand pulling away from Mark's. He was not kissing me. Not on my lips, not on my cheek, not on my hand. Not now. "It's really cold," I announced, "Let's go back."

Olivia sighed in relief. "Good! You were right, it is really cold here. Fork's beaches suck." I didn't even have the heart to roll my eyes.

I had thought they were tourists, for some reason, at the distance I was from them. I had thought that we could easily just sidestep the figures in front of us. I hadn't paid any attention to the color of their skin or their height. I mean, there was a little girl with them!

Maybe my mind had been in denial, just so I could see him again.

Jacob, I mean.

Quil and Embry were there too, and Claire. I kept my eyes on them, afraid of what really seeing Jacob would do to me. Quil held a video camera in his hand, his face stretching into a smile as he watched Claire as she shoved sea-shells in front of it and, from way her mouth was moving, babbled. After a few seconds of this, Claire walked over to Embry and held her hands out as if introducing him. I almost smiled. Then, she walked over to Jacob, frowning, hands on hips. I finally allowed myself to look at him.

He looked terrible…even from where I was I could see that. His shoulders were hunched over and his face was haggard. He didn't even glance down at Claire once, although she was grabbing onto his leg, and talking up to him with a cross look on her face.

"Jamie? Why'd you stop?" Had I stopped? "Do you know these people?" I didn't respond. Just continued to stare in horror, as Jacob's head moved to face my direction. He'd heard Meaghan. It was weird. You'd think my heart would feel better, being this close to him, but it didn't. It felt worse, as if it knew how close he was and yet, how unreachable. Jacob's eyes met mine. They widened. I should have looked away, I should have moved, but I was frozen to my spot in the sand. Something slowly began to occur to me. _Jacob's here. Jacob's here. Jacob is here!_ The thought was giddy, swirling around in my head. Jacob stumbled forward a step. Something in me cried with joy. My right heel left the ground, preparing my foot to take a step…

"Jamie?" My head jerked towards Mark as I was snapped out of my trance. What was I doing? My heel dropped back to down into the sand. "Who's that?"

At this, my eyes moved back to Jacob; he was looking at Mark with terrible recognition. Shit. He had remembered the pictures. His eyes darted back to mine. They were accusing, filled with betrayal and endless pain. My knees almost gave way. Oh, God. Embry was suddenly behind him, saying something to him. Jacob swiveled around and pushed him, his expression furious. Then Jacob was pointing at me and shaking and yelling. I couldn't have understood what he was saying, even if he was in earshot. This was all my fault. Quil grabbed up Claire protectively. I took a step backwards, eyeing his violent trembling. Jake wouldn't. Not here. Embry's hands were up in innocence, his lips moving…in explanation? Jacob punched him in the face and Embry fell. Jacob's figure was blurring. I thought I was going to die. A strangled noise left my throat. Jacob's face whipped towards me at the sound. I flinched back, afraid of what he could do to me. His eyes watched me for an immeasurable moment, filling with guilt, and then he was running, running towards the woods. Embry sat up and spat out blood. He raised his eyes to the sky for a second and then was off after Jacob, shaking in the same way.

Quil walked past us, Claire in his arms, and shot me a reproachful glare. I didn't blame him. I deserved it.

Eventually he too, disappeared into the woods.

Nobody had time to comment, because right then it started to pour. Really rain. Someone shrieked, breaking me out of my reverie. The rain jacket in my arms dropped to the ground. I couldn't bear to be around these clueless, stupid people. I had to get away, if only for a few moments. For a second, my eyes met Mark's and then I ran, just like Jacob and Embry. Just like them.

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**Stupid Jamie. Sigh.**

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	23. Chapter 22: Way Too Close

**Disclaimer: Twilight is not ours!!!**

**Ava: Hi everyone! We have a lot of information for you guys today. First, Aubrey and I want to thank all of you for your reviews. We officially have 100 reviews! That is amazing!!!!!!!!! We never thought we'd get to that. Honestly. So let us point out our amazing reviewers, xXMialnoriXx, Jacob Did Not Imprint, iRedeem, luvableKnegi, kt, Gryffindor Gurl2, xxxdivinecomedyxxx, twitch, skadoosh man, love being anonymous, sweetorbad, calixx, MintCcIceCream, Mayacompany, measureinlove14, and Only4Miken. Thanks very much!!! Sorry we didn't reply to you all! As you probably know, last week there was a technical glitch in fanfiction and we couldn't get any replies out. :(. ****Our life has just taken another dip into extreme business. Aubrey is in a hard core volleyball team, while I have been cast for Desdemona in the play, Othello. This is the leading female role. All of you drama kids should know what a huge commitment and time consumer being a large part, or any part, in a play is. (Just so you know: Aubrey was actually given the part of Desdemona with me, as the play was double cast, until she gave it up for volleyball.) This stuff, along with school and extra afterschool activities, will make us sometimes too busy to write. Sorry. Expect us to definitely slow down in our updating. **

**Also, the end of this story is near. Aubrey and I have determined exactly the last few lines of the last chapter and have general knowledge of all the stuff before that. We just need to write it all down. I'd say to expect four or five more chapters (Although, as some of you know, we have been wrong on guessing that sort of thing), and we will probably write an epilogue, depending on what you guys want.**

**Hope this makes sense. If not, PM us and we will be happy to respond. I think that's it.**

**From both of us: Please enjoy this next chapter. :)**

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Embry's Point of View

_**I don't see how Jamie being gone has anything to do with Jacob's patrolling skills. I could be with Nadia right now!**_

I could feel a headache coming on.

_**Do you really want to patrol with Jacob when he's like this Paul?**_

Paul winced. _**I see your point. God I hate that Jamie kid. Who knew that Jacob would imprint on such a brat? I can't believe she hasn't come back yet. I mean, have you seen her lately? She's miserable. I don't see why he won't let anyone go and talk to her. **_

Silently I agreed, but if Jacob wanted it this way…And it wasn't like she wasn't coming back soon. I _had_ seen her lately, due to the fact that Jacob had asked us to swing by her house during patrol, and it didn't look like she could hold up much longer. I gave her, at most, a month. Less, if the girls decided to follow through their plan to visit her. I'd been hearing them whispering about it for the past week.

Suddenly, I smelled her. Jamie. On La Push. Was she coming back?

_**Finally.**_ Paul groaned.

I followed the scent to a road. I eyed her; she was in a car with another guy. Boyfriend? I pushed the thought away. There was no way she could have a boyfriend with the imprint. _**He must be her cousin or something.**_

_**Yeah, or a friend. **_

The guy in the car was talking about going to the beach. _Please Jamie, come back._ _You don't know how bad Jacob is. _Maybe she would go to the house from the beach…? She saw me, her eyes widening in terror. She asked the boy to put the top up and it was done. Damn it. Jacob would be pissed if he found out we had been seen.

_**I don't think she's here for Jacob dude.**_

I couldn't help but agree. But this was such a great opportunity… _**I'm getting Jacob. **_

_**Just so you know, this is not my idea. **_

I rolled my eyes and loped towards Jacob's house.

After phasing back and dressing, I fished my beat up cell phone out of my pocket. I was surprised it had lasted as long as it had. Two months. I dialed in a number. Quil picked up after two rings.

"Hello?"

"Quil! Does Claire want to go to the beach? Great. Meet you there in fifteen minutes."

"What?"

"I'm bringing Jacob."

"You're what?"

"Yeah."

"He's not going to come."

"I can try."

I hung up and went inside.

"Hey Embry," Billy greeted me wearily. "He's in the dining room." I grimaced at how the corners of Billy's eyes were tight with worry.

"Thanks Billy."

He was slumped over in a chair much too small for him playing with his uneaten food.

"Jacob?"

He made no move to acknowledge me. I sighed and went to go sit down next to him.

"Please talk to me bro."

I waited. "What do you want me to talk about?" he asked without feeling, his fork clinking against the glass plate. His dead voice sent a shiver down my spine. Nobody visited Jake much anymore. It was too painful.

"Let's go do something."

"What do you want to do?"

"I want to go to the beach." He dropped his fork and looked out a window, towards the gloomy skies. "Claire and Quil are going, too," I added hurriedly.

There was a long pause. "No." He said this with more emotion than I had heard in his voice since the night she had left.

"Please Jake."

"No!" He slammed his fist down onto to the table, denting it.

"Jake, just get out and do something till she comes back."

His head snapped around to face mine. "What if she doesn't come back?!" His usually empty eyes were filled with such despair and madness that I had to look away.

I gazed past his shoulder. "She will."

"You don't know anything," he snapped, beginning to shake.

I changed the topic. "It's not like going to the beach will feel any worse than here."

I saw his fist clench. "It will."

"Please Jacob. You're really worrying Billy. Do you know how depressing it is to be around you? Your house is suffocating. Let him breathe."

He swallowed, looking away again.

I was about to give up on him when he pushed away from the table, his chair scraping against the floor. "Fine. Let's go. But don't be surprised if I leave."

I sighed with relief and followed him as he stomped out the back door. I prayed to God that this would work out. Otherwise Jacob would kill me for bringing him to her.

* * *

**Jamie's Point of View**

God, what was I_ doing_ here? Why couldn't I just get on a plane and fly away like Natalie and Heather had done a day ago? Why couldn't I ever stop thinking about him? Why did I hurt so much worse than I did three weeks ago? Icouldn't understand. You were supposed to heal from this sort of thing, right?

* * *

I had a cold. A stupid cold. And it wasn't the sniffles, of course not, it was a cough-up-your-insides-with-a- fever kind of cold. I'd already gone through four tissue boxes in two weeks. Plus, I was going back to school next week. Like I wasn't miserable enough already.

There was one good thing though, I could sleep. It was the strangest thing. Ever since I had gotten sick my nightmares had stopped and I started having dreams of Jacob. They were so simple, usually just Jacob holding my hand or lying beside me, but they were heaven. During them, I actually felt warm. Maybe I really _was_ getting better. But then again, eventually in my dream Jacob would leave and the pain would come back with a vengeance, making up for the time it had lost. More often than not, I would wake up sobbing, my arms stretched out towards the empty side of my bed, searching for remnants of the warmth.

Now, I was sitting on the couch pretending to watch TV. If I was doing something, my parents couldn't accuse me of isolating myself from the world or sulking. They were so happy about Mark. So happy. And I was…not. I missed Jacob. I missed him so much that sometimes I didn't even care if he turned to a wolf. Sometimes he was still just normal, happy-go-lucky Jacob to me.

There were three soft knocks on the door. Probably just Olivia or something. Great. Why did they even want to hang out with me, anyway? I was crazy. I couldn't believe they had fallen for the whole "I ran because of the rain" when we went to the beach three weeks ago. I sighed and got up to get the door. "Hello," I greeted wearily. Then, I registered who was in front of me. My mouth dropped open. "Wha—? No. Y-you stay away from me. I told you, I don't want any of you people near me," I spluttered.

Nadia frowned, pushing her straight, black hair behind her ears. "You people?"

My expression hardened. "You know what I mean," I said coldly.

"Are you scared to say it out loud? I understand. It kinda freaked me out at first, too," she said softly. Why was she always so nice?

"Why are you here Nadia?" I asked, finally, unable to answer her question. "And why is_ he_ here? Can't you drive yourself?" Paul was in his truck outside, drumming his fingers nervously on the steering wheel and looking over at the woods.

She smiled knowingly. My teeth clenched together. "Paul is just being overprotective. Most of the wolves are like that, you know."

I had, once again, no response, so I just stood there, looking like an idiot.

"Do you mind if I come in?"

"Kind of, yeah."

"Jamie, if you don't let me talk to you Kim and Emily will come down here. They almost came today."

I didn't want to talk to her. I didn't want any reminders of Jacob around me, but still, I stepped aside. We sat down on the couch. I leaned back, coughing.

"Oh Jamie," Nadia murmured at the sound of my hacking.

"What?" I snapped. "It's just a cold." I coughed again. "Can you just get on with it?"

"It's Jacob," Nadia said.

I looked away quickly. "Yeah?"

"He's really depressed."

My heart burned. "He'll get over it."

"Like you?" she asked.

I couldn't breathe. No. Not like me. The exact opposite of me. "Yes," I forced out, "Like me. I'm moving on…seeing other people." And then I pictured someone else with Jacob. My Jacob. My stomach heaved.

Nadia was hardly bothered. "Oh. Right. Mark."

"Yes, Mark."

"I thought he cheated on you."

"That is none of you're business," I said shrilly. "I mean, really. I can't believe he told you that!"

"He didn't. Paul told me."

"Oh…well I can't believe he told Paul!"

"He didn't mean to."

"Oh. Right. The words just escaped from his mouth. I can't believe I ever thought that him talking about me behind my back was cute."

"Jamie you're making assumptions. Jacob isn't exactly your standard human being."

That shut me up.

"Jamie, I haven't known Jacob for much longer than you," she continued, "And the two months extra I did know him I thought he was the most miserable man alive. He is ten times worse now, Jamie. I can't stand to see him, or anyone, hurt this way. He's family."

The pain and cold put me close to gasping. I held them back. You can still breathe Jamie, your lungs are in perfect working order. "Like I said," I whispered, "He'll get over it. I can't be around someone like him. He'll hurt me."

They have excellent control Jamie." I gave her a disbelieving look. "Emily's case happened back when they were still young…besides, I don't think the wolf problem is the only reason why you left."

"It is," I hissed. It had to be.

"If the wolf thing was your only problem then you would have at least gotten all the facts."

"Maybe I don't even want Jacob, anymore," I snapped.

"Jamie," she said sympathetically. "You miss him. You _need_ him."

My teeth ground together at her tone. "You know, I am so _sick_ of everyone putting words into my mouth. I mean, that one day we got together, you just assumed that I loved him. Like we were an It Couple. We were _never_ that way. It wouldn't have lasted. He's this happy, outgoing, fun guy while I'm moody, anti-social, and all I ever do is homework! We were too different…too different. So I don't see why everyone wants us back together when we would _never_ work out!"

"You're wrong," Nadia said quietly, infuriatingly.

Then she added, "Both of you had broken hearts."

"Who the hell cares? I would have gotten over Mark on my own! _He_ would have gotten over that Bella brat on _his_ own! You are _really_ starting to piss me off Nadia!"

"He wouldn't ever leave you Jamie…You know that, right?"

The wind was knocked out of me. It took me a second to gather my surroundings. "You know what Nadia? Fuck. You."

Nadia sighed. "Just think about it Jamie. Please. If not for Jacob, then for yourself." There was a knock at the door. "I'll be out in a second, Paul and I'm fine. She wouldn't hurt me. I told you," she called, smiling lightly. She turned back to me, "I wasn't lying Jamie. He would rather die than leave you."

"Get out now," I said lowly.

She made no movement to leave, only giving me a pitying expression. "Please Jamie."

"GET OUT!!!" I screamed.

It wasn't until the sound of the truck disappeared into nothing that I allowed myself to cry. Nadia had hit too close. Way too close.

I found myself getting up and reaching behind the TV. My hands closed around Jacob's letter and I pulled it out. Hands trembling, I reopened the crumpled letter. For the next hour my fingers ran over the note, studying his scrawling handwriting, trying not to read the words.

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**Coming up next: Jamie goes back to school.**

**Ava: Anyone read any good books lately? I am desperately waiting for September which is when the sequel to The Hunger Games is coming out. I'm pretty excited. Aubrey hasn't gotten around to reading it yet. Her loss.**

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**Out of curiosity's sake, how old do you think we are? And should we have a poll asking you readers who your favorite original character in this story is?**

Anyway, we hope you liked it! Please review! (Insert witty comment about reviews here, as we cannot think of any at the moment)


	24. Chapter 23: School

**Disclaimer: We do not own Twilight.**

**Ava: Soooo. Yeah. Sorry for being so late. It was my fault. Not Aubrey's...mine. I got my laptop taken away the day we were going to post this. Me and my mom (My mom and I, I suppose) don't fight much but when we do... Anyway, I'm real sorry. And, I'm not sure, but I don't think Ava and I have answered the reviews for the last two chapters and we just want you to know that we will be answering them for this chapter. So let's thank our wonderful reviewers from last week: iRedeem, MintCcIceCream, luvableknegi, The TeddyBear In Your Bathroom, love being anonymous, anonymous, Only4Miken, Mayacompany, and Marshmalu. **

**Enjoy.**

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**Jamie's Point of View**

_It was pouring outside. Like always. I sighed and laid out my clothes for the next day, for the first day of school. I tried not to feel too depressed. At least I'd see Alex and Danielle. I'd even be happy to see Nate. _

_Jacob would be there too. I smiled blissfully. Jacob. I wondered how his summer was. It was probably better than mine. _

_I couldn't wait to feel his warm arms wrap around me, to meet his eyes, to taste his lips…_

_Suddenly, Mark was standing in my doorway. I jumped back, a quiet cry escaping from between my lips. "How the hell did you get in here?" I demanded_

_He smirked, his blue eyes glinting, and disappeared. _

"_What the…?"_

"_Silly Jamie," I heard Mark's voice behind me. _

_I swiveled around. His was lounging on my bed, arms behind his head. "Jesus Christ Mark! What do you want?"_

_He didn't speak for a second, just grabbed a book off of my dresser and flipped through it. "You really actually think Jacob still wants you now? After all you've done to him?"_

_A knot of fear appeared in my stomach. "What do you mean? Jacob loves me!"_

_Mark chuckled darkly. "How do you even know he liked you in the first place, huh?"_

"_I-I know. I just know."_

"_You're dating me and I disgust you. He could have felt the same." _

"_N-no." I heard clunks on my rooftop. Hail._

"_Face the facts James, Jacob never has loved you and never will."_

"_Don't call me that! And Jacob was the one who liked me first!"_

"_You are a very pretty girl Jamie." He placed the book back on the dresser._

"_What are you trying to imply?" I demanded._

"_Your looks were the only reason I ever dated you," Mark smiled. "I wouldn't put it past Jacob to do the same."_

"_You—you don't even…Quit lying!" I screamed at him. "Quit lying you—you piece of shit!"_

_He snickered and vanished into thin air. I let out a shaky breath of relief and crawled under my covers. _

"_He never loved you, you know," said Mark's voice. I looked around my room. He wasn't there. All I could hear was the thudding of chunks of ice above me. I laid my head back down, my heart pounding. "He never will." Oh, God._

"_Go away," I whispered. _

"_Pretty girl," he taunted._

"_Go. Away. Now." Where was he? I covered my ears._

"_And if he ever did love you he wouldn't now. You broke his heart. Just like Bella." The words resounded through my head clear as day. _

"_Please," I sobbed, "Please stop." I was so cold. _

"_Heartbreaker," he whispered menacingly. How could I hear him over all this noise?!_

"_STOP!!!" I began to shiver._

"_You're unlovable. He would have left you anyway."_

"_HE LOVES ME!!! HE LOVES ME!!! HE LOVES ME!!!" I yelled, trying to drown out his leering words. _

"_He doesn't." The cold was turning my fingers blue, to ice. I couldn't feel anything._

"_HE LOVES ME!!! YOU'RE WRONG!!!" _

_Mark chuckled. "If he loved you, he would have come and saved you by now." _

"_JACOB!!! He'll come." My words began to slow, losing volume, coming out like mush. _

"_He'll—He'll make you go away. Jacob!" I called out weakly. My lips were too numb. _

"_He'll come, do you hear me?" To my horror I saw ice form on my fingers, quickly creeping up my arms._

_Where was he? _

_My heart beat slower and slower. I suddenly felt very numb, calm almost._

"_Please Jacob." I breathed, feeling the ice reach over my chin to my lips._

_Jacob._

My dream swerved off course, changing scenes.

_We were on the cliffs again. He was holding me, pressing my back into his stomach. I was warm._

"_It's okay Jamie. I'm here." His lips brushed against my ear. I sighed in pleasure. _

_I opened my mouth to say, "I know," but no sound came out. I was too distracted to worry too much about it; his thumb was rubbing circles on my arm. It was silent for a while. I listened to the waves beating on the rocks below. _

"_I-I miss you a lot, you know," Jacob said finally, painfully. _

"_Don't be sad," I wanted to say, but still I couldn't manage to say anything. I squeezed my eyes shut. This was my punishment for leaving him. To have to endure his pain in silence._

"_Everyone says that you'll come back but…"_

_I shifted against him, turning so that I faced him. I buried my head into his chest. I'd come back._

_We were now in my bedroom. He let go, sighing. Goosebumps raised on my arms. _Don't go._ I reached towards him, grabbing his torso, trying to bring him closer to me. "Please," I managed to murmur. "Don't." _

_He hesitated for a second, looking pained. Then he grabbed my hands, kissing each, and placed them back beside me. "Sorry Jamie. I don't think you'll be very happy if I'm in here when you wake up."_

"_I won't mind," I mumbled softly. _

_Jacob chuckled darkly, clambering out of bed. "I don't believe you. I'll see you at school Jamie."_

"_No," I moaned._

_He leaned over me, grimacing. "Bye Jamie. I love you." I felt his lips on my forehead before everything went black._

When I woke I was crying, although I had no recollection of my dreams at all. I pulled myself over to the other side of the bed. Hazy with sleep, I could almost imagine that I could smell him on my sheets, that I could feel his warmth. I let out a broken sob. I was past missing him. I needed him. I went quickly to my drawer and pulled out the t-shirt I had lent him more than two months ago. I pressed my face into it breathing deeply. His earthy scents enveloped me, and tears leaked out of my eyes. How much longer could this last? I heard a knock on my door. I shoved the shirt back in the drawer and rubbed my hands over my eyes.

"Yes?"

"Thirty minutes till school Jamie."

"Okay Mom."

My heart pounded sporadically. I shook my head and went to get dressed.

Thirty minutes later my doorbell rang. I slung on my backpack and went to get into the car with Mark. Mark didn't talk the whole way there, but shot glances at my nervous expression. I wanted to hide myself from him, to block his condescending eyes. I realized that I hated him. I hated Mark.

When we arrived, he smiled at me, saying, "See you Jamie." And then, before I could prevent it from happening, he dove in and gave me a peck on the cheek. Bile rose in my throat. He smirked and left the vehicle without another word.

I held back tears. When had I become so weak? I made my way towards Forks High School keeping my head down. Normal behavior on my part. Abruptly, I heard someone calling my name. Danielle. I pressed forward, ignoring her, quickening my pace with each passing second. Now everyone would be mad at me. I took my time finding my locker and was relieved when the warning bell rang. I hurried to my new math class, the first one to show up. Alex was second. Quickly, I looked away. I heard him take a seat next to me. Had he forgiven me? Cautiously, I peeked over at him. There was an angry set to his mouth. I swallowed painfully. Why was he sitting next to me if he was still mad? I was sure there was a reason. I just didn't think I'd ever guess it. I put my head on the desk until class began, so I could forget myself in the lesson.

* * *

Alex left without looking at me once. For some reason, rage punched me in the gut. I bit my lip. Who needed him anyway? My anger only increased through second period, study hall. I stormed out of that classroom , hating myself, feeling even more the consequences of my actions. I glared down at my schedule. English with Mrs. Landon. Great. She was well known for being extremely tough. Extremely. And I'd heard she was one of those teachers who tried to set her students up. Like I needed to be set up. Even worse, her classroom was at the other side of the school, so I was one of the last kids to arrive.

My feelings of irritation towards the class were replaced by horror when realized who was in it. Jacob. I took a seat as far away from him as possible, feeling his gaze.

Mrs. Landon clapped. "Okay class, settle down. I will now choose your partners for the year."

The class groaned in unison, myself included. She sighed.

"Everyone stand up against the wall." Another chorus of groans. At least I wasn't the only one thinking that we were seniors, not kindergarteners. I grabbed my stuff and stood up against the wall. Mrs. Landon held a seating chart in her hands. She wasn't old, as you would expect. She looked about thirty and she was beautiful in a soft and curvy, natural kind of way. She had blonde hair and a light golden skin tone. No makeup. No high heels. No top-of-the-line clothes. Just her. And she was crazy.

She started to call out names. "Carrie Anderson and John Paine. Laurie Fairchild and Steven Ingram. Tina Ramsey and Caroline Danvers." This list went on. Finally, I heard my name, "Jamie Strickland and Jacob Black." _Huh?_ The air whooshed out of me. Was she serious? How could I have ended up with _him?_ Out of all the other people in the classroom, what were the freaking chances that I ended up with the _one_ person I didn't want to be with? Panic began to well within me.

A girl beside me muttered, "Lucky." I almost laughed, I really did. _Lucky?_ To love someone so much that it caused them pain? To not even understand why?

"You two in the back over there," Mrs. Landon gestured at us. We went to go sit down. Once seated, I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes. I felt him staring at me.

After what seemed like hours, soon the whole room was paired up. Mrs. Landon stood up at the front of the classroom. "Okay class, I'm going to go ahead and assign a project." More groans. "Don't groan at me!" she snapped. "You're seniors, expect it! The project is on the novel _The Great Gatsby _by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It will be a partner project. The project will be a five page essay on the themes, motifs, and symbols found in _The Great Gatsby _and a visual that portrays the main points of your essay_. _You will _both_ have to read the book, even if your partner doesn't mind doing the project by his or her self. I_ will_ be holding pop quizzes throughout the nine weeks on this book to discourage such behavior. I will expect to see a draft every two weeks so we can avoid total procrastination. And, let's face the facts, you probably will have to get together after school to put it all together. It's due at the end of the nine weeks."

Shit. Shit. Shit. I dropped my head onto my desk, wishing as if I could crawl into a hole and bury myself alive. Yeah, I was lucky all right. Lucky as black cats and the number thirteen. The book landed on my table.

Jacob cleared his throat. "Well, I guess we should start," his voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't used it in a while. I picked up my head, but refused to look at him. "Jamie? What should we do?"

I sighed, and then turned my head to face his. My heart picked up it's pace at his masculine features. "Why don't you figure it out?" I retorted.

"C'mon Jamie, don't do this."

I looked into his vulnerable, miserable brown eyes. My heart melted for a split second...and for that moment, I wanted nothing more than to collapse into his arms and bawl, caress his soft skin, to just give in...but I swiftly turned away and hardened in spite."Well, if you really want to know, we should read the book separately," I replied tersely. "And, while we're reading, we should write down all the themes, motifs, and symbols we see and write them down on a piece of notebook paper. Then, we should exchange our notes and discuss. Our combined list will be our first draft…That isn't _too_ difficult, Jacob, right? Not even for you?"

Jacob didn't even flinch. I frowned. "What sort of visual do you want to do?"

I could have ignored him…I could have sneered…I had a battalion of offensive comments lined up in my head…but the thought of doing any of these things made me feel sick and very, very tired. "I don't know Jacob. You choose," I sighed.

"Are you sure Jamie?"

"Positive."

"Is a poster good?"

"Yes. When's the last time you've actually done a project Jacob?"

There was a pause.

"Never mind. I don't want to even know."

"Jamie…?"

"What?" I snapped, irritation creeping into my tone.

"I think we should talk."

My chest seized up. "I don't think that would be such a good idea," I managed.

"I just think that—,"The bell rang. I thanked God and flew out the door. Lunch was next.

Jacob caught up to me, frowning. "Jamie. Please. Let's talk."

"Jacob. Let's not," I jeered, picking up my pace.

"Yeah. Real mature, Jamie."

I didn't say anything, just swiveled around, stopping and crossing my arms. Jacob sighed.

"Emily's pregnant."

I stiffened. How much had I missed out on? And…and why should I even care? I slowly met his eyes.

"What are you doing?" The hallways were emptying.

"I'm talking to you…we're going to have to get along to do this project, James. You wanted me to get better grades, right?" A lump appeared in my throat.

"Like that's why you're really…" I began nastily before changing my mind. Tearing him down never made me feel any better. Only worse. "Look Jacob, I really don't think you should…I don't want or need to know about…I just don't like to…" I groaned. "Just stop!" I buried my head in my hands, tears of frustration clawing up my throat. "Please, just stop."

"Stop what?"

I bit my lip. "Telling me about… about them!"

"Why?"

I squeezed my eyes shut. "Because…because…Does it matter?" I snapped, "I told you to stop!"

Another pause. "Kim and Jared are getting married in five months, too."

Wow. Great. Something else that I wasn't going to be a part of. I wished he would stop. It hurt to hear about the life that I had given up. The life where I had been happy and wanted. The life where I had allowed myself to love. "So?" I asked.

"They want you to come, especially Kim. I wouldn't be surprised if you get an invitation in the mail soon."

I was shocked. "Why…why would they want me to come?"

"Why do you think, Jamie?" I saw his face flicker with emotion. Hurt. Anger. Betrayal. Hopelessness.

"I don't know," I said numbly, my mind still processing his previous expression. It was the truth. Why would they want me at their wedding? I had hurt Jacob.

Jacob just stared at me for a second before a bitter smile slowly split his face. "You don't know," he repeated slowly, incredulously. "You're an idiot Jamie. An idiot. It's obvious why."

His words burned me. I didn't deserve them. Not this time, at least. "If it's so obvious, Jacob, then just tell me!" I replied angrily.

"Because they fucking care about you Jamie! _I_ care about you! I thought you knew that! We aren't like Mark, Jamie. Most people aren't. I wasn't going to leave you, cheat on you! You were the one that left! I loved you! I…still love you." His last sentence was a caress, barely audible.

Tears pricked my eyes. He hid his face from view.

"I miss you so much."

"I-I'm sorry," I whispered.

He looked back up at me. "Then please come back Jamie. Please."

I felt trapped. "I-I can't."

"Why not?" His voice was angry again. "Give me one good reason."

_Because I love you too much…and it scares me._

"Please understand," I said softly, closing my eyes.

I heard something heavy hit the wall. A fist? Then heavy footsteps. A loud bang. Cautiously, I opened my eyes. There was a hole in the wall. And there was no Jacob. It was the first time he had ever left me without promising to come back. I started to cry.

* * *

By the time I made it to lunch, Mark's lunch table—my lunch table—was already filled to the brim with the coolest kids, some were even standing up around it. I eyed my old table. There were about three new additions, leaving two open seats. Jacob wasn't there. I found myself swallowing tears once more.

"Man, you're going out with Jamie? Damn!"

"How? She turns everyone down!" I turned back to my new table, grimacing.

"Actually, you know what I heard?" a girl babbled, "That that new kid, what's his name, um, Ja—."

"Hey guys!" I said with phony enthusiasm, cutting off what the girl was going to say.

At my appearance, the brunette sitting by Mark stood up immediately. Because that's what happened when you were with Mark. Respect. Forgiveness. Acceptance. I took the seat, my fake smile fooling everyone. It was an easy task, with this group.

"What's up?" I asked, knowing that it would start up a conversation. And it did. I tuned out their mindless dialogue until I heard Alex's name being brought up into the conversation.

"Yeah, I thought he was so cool. But in Mrs. Landon's second period I found out he was gay!" screeched Olivia.

"Where is he?" Meaghan demanded, eyes scanning the lunchroom.

"Back table."

Meaghan turned her head towards Alex and Nate who were in deep conversation, leaning towards each other. "Ooh that's soooo weird."

"I hate fucking fags," complained Mark.

I couldn't stand it one more moment. "Do you have a problem with gay people?"

"It's unnatural."

"Well I think it's ridiculous that you think that."

"What's your problem? Are you friends with that kid?"

My heart panged. "No," I muttered. "Just lay off okay? He can't help it. And if he could, it's his opinion."

Mark smiled. "Of course, I'll stop."

Yeah, right. "Whatever Mark."

"Hey, I mean it." Then, he reached over and pulled me up and...and…kissed me. I gagged into his mouth. It felt so wrong. His lips were too cold and hard. He smelled like too much cologne. And his hands in my hair yanked and tugged. I couldn't pull away though, I was frozen. The kiss seemed to last forever. When he finally pulled away, I saw Jacob standing in the door of the cafeteria, his eyes filled with agony. Holding my mouth, I excused myself to the bathroom. I leaned over the grimy school toilets, retching.

Once my stomach was empty, I flushed the toilet, and then headed to the sink to wash my face off. My throat burned and my mouth tasted terrible. I was afraid, too. And I couldn't even figure out why. I…I felt so violated and exposed and dirty…And mean. Callous. Cruel. I began to sob, but then stopped myself. I didn't need to throw myself a pity party. I needed to do something. I wiped my tears and headed back to the cafeteria. I attempted to walk normally over to the lunch table, but trembled a bit. Mark looked at me with a smirk.

"Hey babe."

It took everything I had not to slap him right then. I reigned in my animosity. "Yeah. Um, can you just come with me for a sec?"

"Anything for you, babe."

I tried in vain to smile in response. I couldn't even fake it. My contempt for him was mounting with every step. It was one of the most trying things I'd ever had to do to not blow up in his face. When we reached the outside hall, I shifted and faced him.

"Mark," I started, trying to keep my composure, "this thing between us...it can't work. It's over."

He looked down at me dubiously. Then, he burst into laughter. "Wait...you're saying...you're dumping me?"

By this point, I was seething. I didn't give a damn about anything. Hatred for him seeped from every part of my body. "Yes, Mark. Is that so fucking hard to believe? Huh? You think you're so amazing that no girl can break up with you ever again?! You're the most self-centered, moronic ass I've ever met, and I'm the same way for EVER thinking I could be with you AGAIN!"

"Hey!" He yanked my shoulders forward. "Don't you dare fucking talk to me like that! _I'm_ dumping _you_, bitch!" He slapped my face unexpectedly and forced me down to the floor. I heard his steps echo through the halls, further and further away. I didn't want to get up. My face throbbed in pain, and I felt tears stream down my face. I sobbed quietly.

"Jamie?" a voice said tentatively.

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**Ava: So the end of this chapter totally took us off course of our plan. So now we have to reorder everything in our brain. That'll be fun.**

**So we have a lot of fun things today:**

**Jamie and Jacob actually mean the same thing. It was a total coincidence. Weird, huh? They mean like supplanter or something.**

**Anyone watch American Idol? We _love_ Adam. He and his voice are gorgeous. (And we do know he's gay.) My prediction is that Scott's going home. I don't know for sure yet.**

**We asked you how old you thought we were last chapter? We're both freshmen in high school. Yep. I, Ava, just turned 15 two weeks ago. Aubrey's fifteen, too.**

**Review? For my birthday?**


	25. Chapter 24: Hope

**Disclaimer: We do not own Twilight!**

**Ava: What's up??? Wow 14 reviews??? You guys rock! Thanks to: MintCcIceCream, Marshmalu, iRedeem, Only4Miken, Kitty6732, luvableKnegi, XxChesireGrinxX, xXMiaInoriXx, TheInflictedFinger, therewasbeauty, pipergirl00, Flower, Suck Neck, and Team Jake. **

**Just so you know, we are currently working on our next fic. **

**

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****Jamie's Point of View**

"Jamie? You okay?"

I looked up. Alex. "Hi," I whispered. He squatted down next to me. He was furious.

"I just saw what happened. How _dare _he? I am this close to finding that bastard and kicking his sick ass. If Jacob kn—."

"Stop. Violence is never the answer, right?"

Alex looked startled for a second and then burst out laughing. "I guess I can't argue my own words."

I rested my head on his shoulder. "Does this mean you're not mad at me anymore?"

Abruptly, Alex's expression turned serious. "No. I'm still pretty damn mad at you, Jamie. Pretty damn mad."

My stomach dropped. "Oh," I said softly. I didn't know why I was so upset. I already knew he was angry with me. "Then why—," I began, not sure what I was asking.

"Then why—what?"

"Then why did you follow me and Mark out here? And why are you here now? And—and why did you sit next to me in math?" I asked, the questions pouring out of my mouth.

Alex smiled. "Just because I'm mad doesn't mean that I'm not your friend."

"Is it still…" I took a deep breath. "Is it still because of…of…of Jacob?" His name burned on the way out.

"That I'm mad at you? Yeah. It is. Jamie have you seen him lately?"

Guilt choked me. "Yes," I whispered.

"Then I want to know why you aren't with him right now. And why were you dating that fucking _asshole_?"

"Because…It's complicated."

"I don't think it is."

I swallowed. Why was Alex so good at asking hard questions? "Because," I took a deep breath. I owed the answer to him. "Because I'm afraid. I was afraid that he'd leave me. Afraid that he'd hurt…hurt me. And now—now I'm afraid that it's too late. That I've hurt him too much. Alex, he probably hates me! You know why I dated Mark? Because I thought he could replace Jacob." I laughed bitterly at my words. "That somehow _Mark_ could make me feel the same way Jacob did. That he could make me feel better. Even though I hate him." I stared unseeingly at the wall for a moment. "God, I _hate_ myself!!!" I wished I could throw something, break something, anything. My nails dug into my skin, drawing blood. I gazed at my bloody palms, not comprehending. And then I burst out crying.

Alex put his arm around me. "It's okay Jamie. It's okay."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," I sobbed.

"You'll be fine."

"God, I'm such a baby. I've cried more in these past months than I have in my whole life. And now you have deal with it."

Alex smiled at me. "I don't mind. I'm your best friend."

"You _should_ mind. I've been such a bitch to you. Even before this mess. With Nate and everything."

"It's okay. I knew why."

I snorted. "I can't say that I'm surprised."

Alex chuckled. "You're definitely not the same Jamie anymore. If I had told you that earlier in the year you would have been horrified."

I grimaced. "Probably. I think I have a lot more to worry about than my best friend knowing about my old infatuation with him, though." There was a brief lull in conversation. My mind wandered, traveling through everything that had happened since Jacob had seen me outside of the mall. I really _had_ changed a lot. Alex seemed to be in deep thought as well. "What are you thinking about?"

Alex started. "Huh?"

"You look like you're pondering the meaning of life or something."

"Oh. I was just thinking about the big secret surrounding Jacob and his friends."

"You noticed?"

"I thought we already had established that I'm pretty good at 'noticing' things."

"That's just weird."

"Did you ever find out what the secret was?"

"Yeah. The basic idea of it at least. That's why I left."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "That crazy, huh?"

"Yes. Extremely. It kind of turned my world upside down at first. I was so angry at Jacob for letting me get in so deep without telling me it. And I was so afraid of him and…and his family. But now I barely ever think about it. I just think about how much I miss him. How much it hurts. Why I can't seem to get over him. And now I realize I should have at least let him try to explain things before running off. That he won't leave me. That—that it's too late to stay away and that his stupid secret doesn't matter at all anymore. Even if it poses a threat to my careful, boring half-life. I love him too much." My words were like a slap to the face. "I have to go talk to him!" I scrambled up to my feet. Alex was smiling at my epiphany. He was happy for me. "Where is he?"

Alex's smile faded. "He ran off."

"Damn it," I hissed. I was sure he was running around as a wolf. I wasn't really sure how that worked, could he turn back and go home, or did he have to wait awhile? Would he even want to go home? "Hey, I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

"Alright," Alex grinned, "You can have my keys."

"Thanks." I started to jog away.

"And Jamie?" I turned back around. "I think things are going to finally start looking up for you." I smiled back at him, my veins buzzing with anticipation, before heading to Alex's car once again.

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I hastily parked by Jacob's familiar house, stuffing Alex's keys into my back pocket as I jumped out of his car into the rain. At the front door I hesitated for a second, wondering what I was going to say. _God Jamie just get on with it! _I reached my hand out to knock on the door. No one answered. I rang Jacob's doorbell a few times. "Jacob, please answer the door! It's me, Jamie. I need to talk to you!" Still, no one opened the door. "Billy…you home? Anyone? Please!" I shouted. Softer then, "Please." I thought about leaving a note, but this had to be done face to face.

I went home feeling like doubling over in my pain.

Jake didn't come to school the next day to the disappointment of both Alex and myself, and when I went to go check his house he and his father were, once again, not there. I sank down against Jacob's door, tears running down my face. It was my fault that Jacob wasn't home. What if he didn't ever come back? The thought was so horrifying that I let out a low moan. And, since Billy had trouble doing things on his own, I had probably driven him out of the house, too.

That was it. I wasn't leaving La Push until I could find someone who could tell me where Jacob was…or at least point me in the right direction. I went to Nadia's house first, and found it empty as well. Then to Kim's. Still nobody. Where was everybody? I knew it was a Friday night…but still! I headed to the Uley's, feeling that all the hope in my life rested on finding someone there.

My heart sank when I saw the dark windows and the closed garage door. I had to try, though. I closed my eyes before going to the front door. I didn't even have to knock to find out where everyone was. On Emily's door was a yellow sticky note reading: _Maria, my family and I have a family gathering at the beach tonight. I know you wanted to come over but this has been in my schedule for months. Sorry for the inconvenience, Emily. _I read it three times before its words processed. I ran to my car, nearly mindless, and sped to the beach, my car kicking up leaves in the parking place. I could feel all my physical and emotional anguish melting off of me. I felt free. I would see Jacob. Everything would be okay.

I hovered at the edge of the forest when I saw the family gathering, having second thoughts. What if Jacob had been lying when he said that they wanted me back? And I knew without a doubt that some of them would be furious with me. I watched them for a while, trying to gather courage. The younger boys, Collin, Brady, and Seth were lazily tossing a football between themselves. Embry was, naturally, stuffing his face by a long table. Collin threw the football at the back of his head. Embry looked up for a second, food hanging out of his mouth, before shrugging and bringing his attention back to the food. The boys burst out laughing. A ghost of a smile passed over my lips. Quil was closer to the beach with Claire on his shoulder. It was a touching sight. They were watching the sunset, looking so tranquil that I had to look away. All of the couples were sitting together in a circle around a massive pile of wood in the sand. Billy, Leah, and a few other people that I didn't know were with them. Jacob was nowhere in sight. My heart tightened.

I sat there watching them for a while, longing to join them. When the first stars came out everyone settled down. Sam walked up to the heap of wood and somehow managed to get a fire going. The fire burned blue and green; there must have been driftwood in it. As it climbed higher, the boys and Claire began to do a really bad Indian dance, excluding the more serious Brady and Sam. I sighed, watching them all together, a big, happy family. I moved closer to them. I was about two hundred yards away, still at the edge of the woods. Maybe…No. They didn't want me there. Especially since I had driven Jacob off. Still, I continued to inch forward. I began to hear their terrible imitations of tribal chants. It was intermingled with laughter. I felt a small smile slip onto my face. It felt weird to smile so many times in one day after not smiling at all for months. The bonfire licked the sky, throwing sparks into the night. Billy raised his hand, asking for silence. Everyone went back to their seats. What were they doing? I was about twenty yards away now and not pushing it. I slipped behind a tree. Satisfied that everyone was quiet Billy began to talk:

"Before we begin, Jacob's not coming?"

"Not that he planned," Quil said. "He's running around. I don't think he's going to go farther than a few miles though, I think he wants to stay near Jamie." My heart tore.

"What did she do this time?" Paul asked, throwing a stone into the fire.

"I'm not sure. I think it's something about her ass of a boyfriend again. I don't think Jake can take much more of this." I shut my eyes, trying to breathe.

"I'm sure she'll come around soon," Billy sighed. "Let's get going." And then Billy's voice changed, growing stronger and wiser. "The Quileutes have been a small people from the beginning. And we are small people still, but we have never disappeared. That is because there has always been magic in our blood…"

I suddenly realized that Leah was looking right at me. Fuck. One of her perfectly waxed eyebrows lifted. I backed up, ready to turn around and run. Leah shook her head. Billy had stopped talking, and was watching Leah with a confused expression on his face. Everyone else joined him. Shit. Shit. Shit. I was so fucking dead. Leah smirked, pointing towards me. "Looks like we have ourselves a visitor." Slowly everyone turned to face me. "C'mon out Jamie."

Biting my lip, I left the trees. A range of emotions were splayed across their faces. Relief. Happiness. Outrage. And, of course, they all felt a need to comment on my appearance.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" Brady asked.

"Thank God!" Paul.

"Oh Sam, Jacob is going to be so happy." That would be Emily.

"Ha ha! You so totally owe me fifty!' Embry.

"Damn it!" Quil.

"Mom doesn't like that word Quil." Claire.

"Oh…um, darn it!"

Kim, "Isn't this great Jared?! Just in time for the wedding."

"Yeah. The wedding." Cue kissing.

But there was only one I heard clearly.

"I'm going to go get Jacob!" Collin got up.

At this statement, I cried, "No!" Silence. "I mean, I kind of wanted to find him for myself. So that…so that he knows that _I_ was the one who wanted to talk to him. Not anyone else. So that he's sure."

More silence.

"Were—were you talking about werewolves?" No answer. Only stares. "Because I kind of wanted to understand you guys more. To start making up for…for what I did. Please."

I saw Nadia smile out of the corner of my eye. "Tell them Billy," she said. "If just for the sake of not having to tell them again in two weeks."

Billy's mouth quirked upwards at this. "We're glad that you're back Jamie."

"Me too," I smiled. I felt so much better. Warmer. Almost okay. But not even close to perfect…because Jacob wasn't there. And until he was, I didn't think I'd ever feel completely happy.

So Billy told what I now know are the Quileute legends. I was enchanted by the story of spirit warriors and the first werewolf. My heart squeezed painfully when I realized that the werewolves were…good. That they were actually putting themselves in danger to protect us. Against vampires nonetheless! I had left for _nothing_. I felt increasingly stupid as the stories went on.

Then, Billy told us of imprinting. It was the only time I would ever hear about it at a bonfire; to this day I am positive that the only reason it was explained that night was because of me.

Imprinting was this thing—this amazing, wonderful, fairytale thing—that werewolves did. It showed them their soul mate, their forever. It happened like a bolt of lightning, instantaneously, seemingly without reason. Bringing light to the world. Or—or maybe lightning is the wrong comparison…too ephemeral for imprinting. When you were imprinted on you were irrevocably bound to someone who would be your protector, your best friend, your lover for life and longer. No matter what age you were. You completed each other.

And to be without each other was to feel unimaginable anguish.

Not for once did I doubt its existence. I was looking at living proof of it. Sam and Emily. Kim and Jared. Nadia and Paul. Quil and Claire. And…And maybe, somewhere deep inside of me thought, maybe Jacob and I, too. With it, the thought brought an extreme feeling of rightness. Still, I pushed it away. Jacob had imprinted on _me_? Please. It was too good to be true. Yet, the thought lingered, nagging me through the rest of Billy's words.

If he _had_ imprinted on me….Oh, God. How much pain had I put him through? I didn't even fucking deserve to live on this planet anymore.

I put my head into my hands and cried. I couldn't believe how incredibly idiotic I had been.

"Oh Jamie." I felt soft arms encircle me. "It's going to be okay."

"How," I choked, "can this ever be okay? I hurt him Emily. I hurt him so badly. He'll never want to talk to me again."

"I'm sure that's not true, Jamie," Nadia said from off to the side.

"Even if it isn't, I don't _deserve_ to talk to him again. Oh, _God._ All this time and he was good. Why didn't I just fucking _listen?_" I buried my head into Emily's shoulder, still sobbing.

"Do you want one of the boys to go and get him?"

I shook my head. "Is there any way to get him to come back without l-letting him know? I really w-want to tell him myself."

There was a small pause. "Well," Emily began, "technically, Sam can force him to phase back and come home"—I didn't question why—"but that will probably make Jake extremely, er, upset."

I considered this for a second before lifting my head and looking Emily in the eye. "Do you think it would be cruel to him to wait till he got back on his own?"

"No, I think in the long run, James, it'll be worth it," Kim answered me sincerely.

"Can you tell Sam and the boys not to tell him?" I asked Emily.

"Of course."

"Will…will somebody call me when he gets back?"

"No Jamie we won't. We'll just let you and Jacob stay miserable at home for forever," Kim teased. "As soon as I know, I'll call."

I smiled at her. "You don't know how good it is to have all of my old friends back." My phone buzzed in my pocket. Dad. "I have to go; it's late. See you." This sentiment was directed to everyone there.

The pack…my friends said their goodbye's, grinning.

I went to bed that night with my heart feeling one thousand times lighter. For the first time in a very long time, I felt hope.

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**Side note: Omg, how was Adam in the bottom two this week?????**

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	26. Chapter 25: Are you okay?

**Disclaimer: Twilight is not ours. Stop. Asking.**

**Ava: Sooo....this is the last chapter....minus the epilogue, of course. Sorry for the long wait, but the good news is is that we're finished with Othello and school. Also, I'm going on a vacation for two weeks which means lots of writing time (in the car), and the epilogue is almost finished...Although, I don't know if we're going to keep it...I'm getting an iffy feeling about it. Wow. Aren't I the queen of elipses today. As always, we would like to review our amazing reviewers: MintCcIceCream, Only4Miken, iRedeem, Jacob Did Not Imprint, luvableKnegi, x..X.x, Gryffindor Gurl2, Rubikins, anonymous, SecondSunrise, SugarGPup-chan, and harvestmoonrox.**

**We love you guys!!!**

**Hope you enjoy!**

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Jamie's Point of View

I awoke from my slumber to the sound of my mother pounding on my door. "Jamie, wake up! You only have twenty five minutes to get ready!!!" I pulled up my head and yawned. There was a huge smudge on the window where my head had rested the night before. "Jamie? Do I have to come in there???" More pounding.

"I'm up, I'm up," I yelled grumpily. My mind finally caught up. Today was Friday; it had been a week since the bonfire.

Jacob had been gone for eight days.

Eight.

I sighed, fogging up the glass of my bedroom window. Maybe I should just call Kim and tell her that I was giving up on Jacob coming home on his own. I glanced down at my cell phone, willing it to ring. Nothing. Swallowing my disappointment, I looked outside my window and examined the forest below. No movement at all besides the drizzling rain. I rested my head back down against the cool, smooth glass. This wasn't the first time I had woken up in a chair beside my window. I had spent the last six nights staying up till three watching for a giant, russet wolf…for Jacob. There had been no sign of him that I could tell. Maybe he had changed his mind and did go out of state…I shook off the thought. That wouldn't change when he came home too much, I wouldn't think. Still, the thought of Jacob being that far away made me feel extremely, extremely alone.

I groaned and got up, escaping my thoughts. I slipped into a blue blouse and jeans, before brushing my hair and heading downstairs for breakfast. "Good morning, mom."

"Hey babe…you look so tired… are you getting enough sleep?"

"Not really," I admitted, "But I'll be fine. It's just a bit of insomnia."

My mother's lips pursed, but she didn't say anything. She had been really worried about me lately. I grimaced and poured myself a bowl of cereal.

Just as I was finishing my breakfast, I heard a honk outside. "Bye Mom. See you after school."

"See you sweetie."

I slung on my backpack and headed outside into the rain. Alex's car was pulled up on the curb. He waved to me, grinning. I attempted to smile back. I got into the backseat, acknowledging Nate's presence with a nod.

"Good morning James," Alex sang, "And how are you on this fine morning?"

I grimaced. "Well at least somebody's in a good mood. I still feel exhausted and terrible," I grumbled.

Alex's happy expression dropped, exposing a more serious one underneath. "Still no sign of him then?"

"No," I muttered, my eyes burning.

"I'm sorry Jamie."

I didn't respond, and I closed my eyes, leaning back on the car's leather seats. Nobody spoke for the rest of the car ride.

The rest of the day didn't go well either. I was facing the fact that I was in orchestra without a proper violin, I fell asleep in Mrs. Landon's class and she nearly took my ass off, Olivia tried to talk me into sitting back at her table with Mark, and then, to top it all off, _Mark_ tried to talk to me into coming back to his table himself and also tried to apologize for hitting me. Apparently, what had happened in the hall that day had slipped out into the general public four days ago. I don't think they were very happy with Mark. Ever since then he had been begging me to, "come back Jamie…I'm so sorry…Please forgive my snake-like soul…I'll regret this for the rest of my long, dramatic, lying life…I don't know how I could be so stupid…"—neither can I—"…Jamie, look at me! Why aren't you listening?...Jamie?" And more of the same.

And I missed Jacob.

So it was pretty understandable that I was not in a good mood when I got home from school that day. I stomped up the stairs and slammed the door behind me. And cried for the first time in a week. All of my hopes had left me. I was starting feel cold and numb again. How was it that when I had finally accepted Jacob he wasn't there?

There was a light knock on my door. "Jamie? Can I come in?"

I only cried harder.

The door slowly came open. "Jamie," my mom whispered, taking in my appearance.

"Mom," I sobbed. She climbed onto my bed, her arms wide open.

"Oh, baby, come here," she murmured. I crawled into her lap and buried my face in to her shirt, throwing my arms around her. She rocked me back and forth. "I'm sorry, so sorry," she repeated softly, over and over again.

"I miss him, mom. I miss him so much," I blubbered.

"I know, baby, I know it," she soothed, rubbing her hand up and down my back.

My mom didn't leave me until she was sure I had stopped crying. "It's going to be okay Jamie. I promise."

And somehow I believed her. I had to.

"Thanks mom," I said quietly.

"Always." She shut the door

After a few minutes of sitting on my bed, I went back to my nightly post by the window. Watching. Waiting.

Then…

Drifting.

_Jacob and I are at the beach, playing in the ocean waves…Laughing. He comes up to grab me, and I laugh some more, darting out of his reach. _

"_Come here, you," he growls playfully into my ear. I stumble and fall into the cold sand. He takes one look at me and literally falls down laughing. Right. Down. Beside. Me. A wave rolls in, swirling my hair around my face. I roll on top of him, reveling in his warmth._

_His eyes are closed. I admire his dark, russet skin and his raven silk hair that shines in the sunlight. I can't resist running my hands through it. His lips pull up in a smile. _

"_I love you," he says, his voice deep and husky. His eyes are still shut tight, and his eyelashes lightly brush his skin._

"_I know," I say back, a grin dancing on my lips._

_I stroke his face. Trace over his eyelids and shower his face, in dire need of a good shaving, with kisses. I realize that I would never do this awake, and giggle. "I am not acting at all like myself, am I?" I ask._

"_You are yourself," he responds, "You're just happy." His arms encircle me. I watch as another wave rushes in and washes around Jacob. _

"_Only with you," I promise, and go in for a kiss. Suddenly, I hear my phone ringing from under our beach umbrella. I curse. "I'll be right back."_

"_Don't go." He holds me tighter against him._

_I push myself off of him. "Trust me, I would if I could. But this is important, I think. Really, really important." Jacob frowns. "Seriously, Jacob, let go right now!" I begin to panic because suddenly I notice that Jacob isn't there anymore but that I still can't move. I need to answer that phone! Get up! I scream at myself. It isn't working. The cell phone stops ringing. For a moment, I lie still, in shock. But then, I'm crying. And crying…And crying……_

I jolted awake, looking around wildly. My phone! I grabbed it out of my pocket. One missed call. It began to ring again, playing a classical violin piece. It was Kim. I stared at it for a second. _Oh my God._ It's Kim! _Answer it you idiot!_ Right. I fumbled with my cell for a second before it flipped open.

"Hello?" I said, my voice restless.

"Jamie! Thank God you answered! Jared says Jacob is coming back!"

"What?"

"I said, '_Jacob is coming back!'_"

"Oh my God," I whispered. "Oh my God. He's coming back!?" My heart was pounding in my chest. I felt kind of dizzy; everything was spinning around and around and around.

"Jamie get yourself together!" she demanded. I could almost hear her rolling her eyes. "You need to get down here."

"Yeah," I said stupidly. "You're right. I need to—I need to…" Tears began to roll down my face. "Kim, Jacob is coming back. Right now. What am I going to say? Do? Oh my God!" I let out a sob. "He's actually coming back." Then I started laughing through my tears. I got up and searched for my shoes, slipping them on. "I'm coming! I'm coming! Don't hang up!" I was afraid that if we stopped talking I'd discover that this wasn't real. That it was all a dream. "Please don't hang up!" I begged, heading to the front door.

"I won't. I won't. Calm down," she reassured me.

"Do you think—do you think he'll be happy to see me?" I asked shakily. I was running out to my parent's car now, somehow the keys in my hand. It was pouring.

"Of course he will," Kim said softly. I jumped in the car and turned on the engine.

"Are you sure he's coming back?"

"I'm positive."

"Good," I murmured. "That's good." It was taking all my will power not to slam my foot on the gas pedal. It was pitch black outside and wet, not exactly prime conditions for speeding.

"Jamie, are you okay?"

"What do you think, Kim? I just found out that my _werewolf_ boyfriend is coming back after being gone for a week running around Washington as a wolf. And I'm fucking crazy enough to drive out to go see him in a bad thunderstorm at three-thirty in the morning! I'm pretty sure that there's something wrong with me!"

"Sorry."

"I'm crossing the La Push reservation line right now," I informed her.

"Good."

"I really, really feel nervous right now. Kind of like I'm going to puke. And I have this weird feeling in my gut, like all my organs are gone or something. You think that's okay?"

Kim didn't answer, just sighed.

"Well, I'm sure it doesn't matter, anyway. You know I had this really good dream last night. Me and Jacob were on the beach and—,"

"God, Jamie, that's enough!" Kim interrupted me. "I'm going to let you go, all right? You should be almost there. Okay?"

"Um, okay," I said. There was a click. I smiled to myself. Two more minutes and I was going to see Jacob. And finally everything was going to be put right.

**Jacob's Point of View**

Someone was pounding on the door. Of course as soon as I got home they would decide to fucking bother me. That was just like them. Always trying to cheer up the damaged goods. I rolled over in my too small bed and shoved my head under the pillow, clapping my hands over my ears.

God, everything hurt. I missed her so much. So much.

Whoever was at the door wouldn't leave. Probably Embry. He usually knocked that loud. "Will you fucking shut up!? It was four in the morning and, frankly, I just want to be. Fucking. Left. Alone in my misery for once. Is that too much to fucking ask?" I yelled. They would hear me.

More banging. And I thought I heard yelling under the pouring rain. What…?

"Obviously it is," I muttered to myself, and got out of bed, fuming. I kicked the door frame on my way out of my room and it splintered. It was like they didn't know or care how much pain I was in. How it had felt to see her kissing him. To have her reject me over and over and over again.

I only hope that he hadn't screwed her over again, because if he had…

I threw open the door and it slammed against the wall. "If you don't fucking leave right—." I choked on my words.

For a second, I thought she was a dream or trick of the light, silhouetted as she was against the night. It would not be the first time I had mistaken dream for reality.

Still, I couldn't help myself from making sure. "Jamie?" I croaked.

She cleared her throat and looked down. "Jacob." She swallowed, and I watched her pale throat move with it. I slid my eyes up to examine her face, she looked so tired.

I grabbed the door frame. This didn't feel real. Everything was tilting. She grimaced. That was weird. She never did that in my dreams, usually she would be smiling and laughing and standing up so tall and straight. She didn't look like that right now. She looked awkward and broken, like something was weighing down her shoulders. But still so amazingly beautiful.

And then I felt something in me rising, warming me, bringing me life. Like the sun. "Hi," I said simply. The corners of my mouth tugged up and tears pricked my eyes.

"Hi," she whispered, still watching the floor. "I came to see you."

Then it hit me. She was really here. She had come back.

"And," she continued, words pouring out of her mouth, "and I just wanted you to know that I'm so sorry. Sorry for Mark. Sorry for ever leaving you in the first place. I don't know what I was thinking. And you have every right to be angry with me. I—"

"Jamie. Stop," I interrupted her, my throat tightening with something. "It's impossible for me to be angry at you, remember?" And then I pulled her up into my arms, putting my lips into her sweet smelling hair. "I love you," I murmured.

She sobbed into my shoulder. "Me too. I love you too, Jacob."

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**So, the last chapter...what'd you think????**

**Sorry if the random tense-change bothered you. It sure screwed up our writing for a little bit. We were just experimenting with it. Which way did you like more???**

**We are soooo shocked that Adam didn't win American Idol but whatever, we're going to go see him in CONCERT!!!!**

**A note to harvestmoonrox: Yeah, I could see why the whole first name the same thing could bother you. (I'm a poet and I didn't even know it. ha ha...bad, unoriginal joke.) We promise that it wasn't done intentionally, though. Jamie has always been Jamie...she couldn't be a Shelby, or a Tiffany, or a Cara. Her name is her in a way. Loved this feedback, by the way.**

**Please, please, please REVIEW!!!!!!!!! (Advice always welcomed.)**

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	27. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: Twilight is still not ours...Surprise, surprise.**

**Ava: Hello. There's so much to say. We are so grateful for each and all of you who reviewed and favorited us and alerted us or just read it. We wish that we could put the names of everyone who reviewed on this story down, but the list would be too long. But we can thank everyone who reviewed last chapter: PrettyFlower, Starkissedtulip, Rubikins, iRedeem, Only4Miken, SugerGPup-chan (Hopefully we spelled it right this time), MintCcIceCream, and Gryffindor Gurl2. We would like to specially thank iRedeem (previously known as Terra106) for being with us from the beginning. You gave us the drive to keep going. **

**So it's the epilogue folks. Please enjoy.**

**P.S. INFO ON FUTURE FICS FOUND AT THE BOTTOM**

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**Jamie's Point of View**

"I missed you so much," I whispered into his ear after I had stopped crying. There was a glow of happiness surrounding us, engulfing us.

"I missed you, too, of course." He laughed joyfully. I rested my forehead on his, and he carried us inside the house.

To our surprise, Billy sat there in his wheel chair, smiling. "Welcome home, son," he said. "Hello Jamie. Good to see you finally found him." He nodded at me.

"Hi Billy."

There was a pregnant pause. I felt slightly embarrassed that Billy had caught us like this.

Finally, Jacob said something, "We're going to my room. We have a lot to talk about." He stared into his father's eyes, conveying something to him.

Billy raised his eyebrows but didn't protest. Jacob walked down his hallway to his room. He laid me gently onto his bed, and situated himself so that he was hovering over me.

"Are you really here?" he asked me softly.

"No," I said sarcastically, "I'm just a figment of your imagination."

He gave a dry laugh and then he leaned in to kiss me, but hesitated and pulled back. His eyes were conflicted. He stood up and began to pace the room. "Jamie I need to tell you something."

What? About imprinting? I opened my mouth to voice my questions, but decided last second to play dumb. "Oh? About what?"

"Well all about the wolf stuff," he replied.

So I listened patiently as he told me an abridged version of the tribal legends. Several times during his tale his eyes flicked over to mine nervously, and when I didn't make a big deal over it he seemed surprised.

After he finished I asked, "So how does it work? Can you…um…_transform_ whenever you want to? Or are you limited to certain time of day?"

He grinned at my word choice. "We can phase whenever we want."

"Anything else?"

"Well, we're extremely fast." I nodded, remembering him blurring before my eyes. "And strong. And we're tall and we all run a fever constantly. That's why we all walk around in nothing but shorts. We're all physically twenty-five years old. And—"

"Wait," I interrupted. "You're eight years older than me?"

"Only physically. I really am eighteen, though."

"Weird."

"Story of my life."

I laughed. "Go on."

"Well when we're in wolf form we can hear each other's thoughts."

"Really?" I asked, my eyes widening. "Like mind-reading?" That was what Nadia must have meant earlier…"That must suck."

He grimaced. "Yeah. No privacy. We all know practically everything about each other. Good…and bad."

I fell back on his bed. "Wow…you've totally ruined my image of evil, people-eating werewolves."

Jake laughed, joining me on the bed. He pulled me so close that our noses were touching. "Good."

He brushed a piece of hair out of my eyes. His eyes were so warm and loving that I felt my throat closing up. Why had I ever left?

Rolling back onto my back, I wrapped my arms around myself. "I missed your laugh," I whispered softly.

After a long moment of silence, I heard Jacob sigh. "There's something else I need to tell you."

My heart beat faster. "What?"

"There's…another thing that happens when you become a werewolf. It's called…imprinting."

My hands were sweaty. Please let him have imprinted on me. Please. "Imprinting?"

"Yeah. It's—"

I couldn't stand waiting anymore. "Jacob. I know what it is. I went to this bonfire party last week and Billy told me all about it. Just, what does it mean for us?" I turned to face him and gestured between us. Something terrible occurred to me. If he hadn't imprinted on me, as was likely, then—then….I swallowed. "What—what if you imprint on someone else Jake?"

"Someone else?" He asked, his forehead furrowing.

"Is it that hard to understand? Someone else!" My voice was edged with hysteria.

He grinned. "Jamie. Have I ever told you that you were an idiot?"

I pushed away from him angrily. "You think it's idiotic to consider that you could fall in love with another girl while I'm still here? God Jacob sometimes you are such an a—"

"No," he interrupted seriously, with only a hint of amusement in his eyes. "But I do think it's incredible that you didn't know from the first time you heard about imprinting that I imprinted on you."

Before I could respond he covered my mouth with his. I had forgotten how amazingly good and right kissing Jacob had felt. A giddy, uncontrollable happiness surged through me. Jacob had imprinted on me!

When I finally pulled away, I was crying. "I'm sorry Jacob. I'm sorry for ever leaving. It was stupid and cruel and childish of me. And I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

Jacob shrugged, grinning. "Good thing you'll have forever to make up for it."

Realization washed over me, and I sighed, snuggling up next to him. "Forever."

Jacob wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight against his chest.

After a few comfortably silent minutes Jacob coughed.

"What?"

He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Well...is Alex gay?"

I laughed, facing him. "Now who's the idiot?" I asked lightheartedly, before kissing him until we were dizzy.

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**~Six Months Later~**

"Jamie, I am so glad you came!" Emily threw her arms around me, with tears in her eyes.

"Of course I did. I wouldn't miss your baby shower for anything."

"And I'm glad you came, too, Jacob." Jacob smiled at her. I leaned into him.

Although technically men were usually not invited to baby showers, Emily had decided that it was time to break tradition, allowing the whole pack family to come. It was extremely casual. More like one of Emily's dinner parties than a giggling estrogen fest. I was thankful; I'd never been good at doing things like that.

"When is it due again?" I asked, while we made our way to the living room. I reached for Jacob's hand. I always felt uncomfortable in this room; so much had happened here.

"March second," Sam said proudly, appearing behind us. He looked so happy.

I placed our gift on the coffee table before sitting next to Jacob on the couch. "Are we the first people here?"

"Yes, Kim said something—" The door bell rang, interrupting Emily. "Come in!" she yelled. "Don't know why they decided to ring the door bell for the first time today," she muttered under her breath. I smiled.

Brady and Collin's booming laughs filled the house. "Hey Emily! Hey Sam!" Brady greeted.

Collin, ever the comedian, bowed when he saw Sam. "Greetings, leader. I bring my respect."

"What is he talking about? I thought Jacob was the leader," a small, curious voice asked eagerly. It was ten-year-old Caleb, Brady's brother. He had caught Brady phasing last week and ever since then had worshipped the pack.

Caleb had been referring to the fact that, for the last three weeks, Jacob had been Alpha.

A month before, I had been surprised to discover that Jacob was descended from tribe chiefs—or Alpha wolves, depending on how you looked at it. So when Sam had decided to give up his wolf form to grow old with twenty-five year old Emily and to allow himself time with his new baby, Jacob had taken over. He was great at it. Even with all the extra responsibilities, Jacob still managed to put aside time for us without my asking.

"He is," Brady grinned down at his brother. "Sam _was_ our leader, but he quit phasing last month."

"Why would he do that?"

"Because I love Emily," Sam answered, kissing Emily lightly on the lips.

Caleb frowned, but didn't respond. I knew what he was thinking, though: I wouldn't give up being a werewolf for a stupid _girl._ I smiled.

The door opened again. "Aunt Emily! Aunt Emily! Aunt Emily!" Claire squealed, jumping up and down, pulling Quil in. "Guess what? Guess what? Guess what?" She was five now and attending Kindergarten at the local tribal elementary school. Quil was handling it better than he thought he would. School made Claire happy, so he was.

"What?" Emily asked, pulling Claire in for a hug.

"Gabby's turning eight on Saturday and I get to go! It's a slumber party!" Gabby was Claire's older sister. They got on really well as far as siblings went.

"Really?" Emily asked.

"Yes." Claire pouted. "Quil can't come, though."

Kristen, who had entered a few moments after her daughter and future son-in-law, grimaced, changing the subject quickly.

I looked over at Jacob; he was deep in thought, uncharacteristically quiet. I wondered what was going on in his head. Maybe he thought I was still mad at him; earlier that day I had discovered that he had visited me at night over the summer, and I had gotten, well, a little angry. After calming down and thinking about it though, I realized that it was probably the only reason I was still sane. It was strange that, even though we were technically soul mates, we were still getting into arguments just like any other normal couple. Something about this comforted me. It made our relationship feel more real to me, less forced.

Soon everyone had arrived, and we were betting money on the gender and the due date of the baby. Whoever won received all the money in the hat. The pack, of course, loved this, and put ridiculous sums of money into the hat presented to them.

Instead of joining in, Jacob was watching Sam and Emily. They were sitting on a love seat in the corner. Emily was on Sam's lap, smiling happily. There really was a glow around Emily. I felt a pang of jealousy. I glanced at Jacob, finally understanding his silence.

"I don't want a kid, do you?" I asked seemingly out of the blue.

Jacob's eyes flashed to mine. For a brief second, he looked extremely disappointed. "You don't?"

"Nah, too much work," I replied.

"Oh," he said hesitantly, putting on a brave face. "Well, if that's what you want."

I laughed. "I'm just kidding. You should have seen your face."

"Not funny." He smiled anyway.

I leaned against him. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

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**Ava: So that's it. The last chapter we will ever write from Jamie's POV for probably forever. (Not to say that you'll never see her again. ;] ) I'm sure some of you were relieved that we didn't add in another twist. Truthfully that would be far too exhausting. **

**We want to apologize for our terrible update rate. Making time to write with another person is extremely difficult. Especially for two highschoolers who like to be busy for some strange reason. (Is anyone else like that? Do any of you hate being idle when you're not busy, but hate being busy when you are? Or is that just me?) Not to say that it hasn't been completely great working with each other. It has been, and having another person writing makes sure that the story is balanced and doesn't get too out of hand. We never run out of good ideas either.**

**FUTURE FICS**: God, I'm sick of looking at bold writing... I'm sorry to say that there will not be a sequel to The Rising Sun. It would be almost cruel to continue the story, because it would ruin what we already have. However, I (I'm not sure if Aubrey wants to join in on this one. Like I said, it's difficult for both of us to find time to write together. She will definitely help edit, though. Aubrey is the master at that stuff.), have been researching and writing another imprinting story. I'm about sixty pages in and I will promise you now, that the main character is nothing like Jamie. So for all of you who hated Jamie, which is a lot of you, shouldn't have to worry. Of course, for those of you who love Jamie (Anyone?), Jamie will be found in the story. This has been in my mind almost as long as The Rising Sun, and I am super excited about it. As it is in third person and is proving to be much longer, I am finding it a nice challenge. It's a CollinxOC and SethxOC story. When I post the first chapter (after school has started probably), I'll let you know via this story and add in a teaser. Also, I want a betareader, so if anyone knows a good one please tell.

By the way: We are planning on changing our name to something shorter like: Ava and Aubrey, or AvaAndAubrey, or Ava Abney and Aubrey Ambler, etc. So watch out for that.

**We love you guys!!!!!!**

**PLEASE REVIEW!!! We would really appreciate it if you would review today as it is the last chapter. Please. Just tell us what you thought. Even if you hated it. **


	28. Preview

**Disclaimer: Twilight is not ours!!!!!**

**Ava:** **Hello everyone. Wow. 173 reviews. You guys are amazing. **

**Anyway, I'm just here to let you know that I've posted my new story (Sadly, Aubrey won't be with us for this one.) I'm super excited.**

**Here's a little snippet from chapter 2 (You guys are lucky. You get read chapter two before it's out.), so this isn't just an author's note.**

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Collin's lips curved upwards. "You're right. I'm sorry." He twisted to face her. "So what's your naaa—" His eyes met hers. Violet's heart went wild; she felt its furious beating all the way to her fingertips. He was gorgeous. He had dark, laughing eyes and raven black hair, cropped short. His skin was the same as Caleb's: smooth and tan, and pulled tight against his muscles. His jaw was square, and his lips looked soft and very, very kissable.

He stared.

And stared.

And stared some more.

Why was he looking so long? Was there something on her face? Violet lifted her hand and brushed her cheek.

"What?" she mumbled. Violet was so far gone that she couldn't even speak right.

"What's your name?" His voice was gentle.

He wanted to know her name! "Violet." Her voice was almost a whisper.

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**Ava: For those of you who hated Jamie, I solemnly swear that Violet is much nicer. And it's SethXOC, too. I love Seth. :)**

**Go check it out! Please? :D**


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